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Changuinola I Hydroelectric Power Plant Panama

Hydro power plant in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Approximate location 9.2703, -82.5154.

HydroBocas del ToroPanama

Changuinola I Hydroelectric Power Plant Panama is a 222 MW hydro power station in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 222,654 homes (estimated). It ranks #3 of 17 Panama power plants by installed capacity. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 53.1% of Panama's electricity; the national grid averages 221 gCO₂/kWh (68.0% low-carbon) (2024).

222MW installed capacity
222,654homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GEODB0043522.

Capacity vs largest hydro plants in Panama

Edwin Fabrega (Fortuna) Hydroelectric Power Plant Panama: 300 MW300Edwin Fabr…Bayano Hydroelectric Power Plant Panama: 260 MW260Bayano Hyd…Changuinola I Hydroelectric Power Plant Panama: 222 MW222Changuinol…Esti Hydroelectric Power Plant Panama: 120 MW120Esti Hydro…Los Valles Hydroelectric Power Plant Panama: 55 MW55Los Valles…La Estrella Hydroelectric Power Plant Panama: 47 MW47La Estrell…Madden Hydroelectric Power Plant Panama: 36 MW36Madden Hyd…Gatun Hydroelectric Power Plant Panama: 22 MW22Gatun Hydr…

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 9.3°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

25.0°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,563cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
180 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 24 °CJF: 24 °CFM: 25 °CMA: 26 °CAM: 26 °CMJ: 25 °CJJ: 25 °CJA: 25 °CAS: 25 °CSO: 25 °CON: 25 °CND: 24 °CD26 °C

Heating degree-days here run 100% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 13/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #3 largest hydro power plant of 8 in Panama by capacity.

Panama has 8 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 1,063 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 9.2703, -82.5154 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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