energy

AES seeks to save water

AES wants to install a system that would increase the amount of energy it can produce in the dry season.

Hydroelectric company AES Panama is considering installing a system to recycle water from its projects in order to increase their outputs during the dry season.

The company plans to install pumps that would return water to the reservoir to be used in times of high demand. Similar systems are used in Argentina and several European countries, said AES Panama General Manager Javier Giorgio. The system will require installing a small impoundment downstream from the dam to collect some of the water that passes through the plant and return it via pipelines. The system can recover up to 20 percent of the water that goes through the dam, though it depends on how large a system is installed.

The mechanism can be adapted to the hydroelectric projects that AES currently operates in Bayano, Esti, La Estrella and Los Valles, as well as its proposed plant in Changuinola. The company will have to determine if it makes economic sense to install the systems.

“We must determine whether the cost of pumping the water is less than the price that would be paid for the electricity it will generate,” Giorgio said.

One potential cost-saving measure would be to use solar or wind energy to power the pumps, though either system would require a significant initial investment.