Chiriquí, Panamá | August 1, 2025
Greenwood Energy [GWE], the renewable energy subsidiary of Libra Group for Latin America, and the University of Panama [UP], held the official inauguration of the ɅLMɅ MɅTER solar project — an educational renewable program developed through an unprecedented collaboration between a private company and a public university in Latin America. This pioneering initiative, with a significant impact on education, also includes the construction and commissioning of the largest solar project in the education sector in Latin America, through which the University of Panama will generate, from clean sources, an amount of energy equivalent to its current and future consumption.
The inauguration ceremony took place at the plant, located in the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences in Chiriquí, and brought together more than 130 attendees from Panama and around the world. The event was led by a central panel that included:
- Juan Carlos Navarro, Minister of Environment of Panama
- Nicholas Logothetis, Vice Chairman of Libra Group
- Eduardo Flores Castro, Rector of the University of Panama
- Eldis Barnes Molinar, Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences
- Menelao Mora, Country Manager of Greenwood Energy Panama
- Juan Pablo Crane, CEO of Greenwood Energy
Other notable participants in the event included: Panama’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Julio Moltó; the Governor of the Province of Chiriquí, Aixa Santamaría Muñoz; GWE co-founder and board member, Guido Patrignani; directors and authorities of the University of Panama; and representatives from Global Bank, FDN, FCA, Morgan & Morgan, Longi, and SEMI, among other strategic partners and collaborators.
Event participants received their safety briefing in accordance with regulations, as well as various aerial recordings of the project and testimonials from directors, professors, students, and GWE executives about the significance and impact of ɅLMɅ MɅTER. To watch the video, click here.
The ɅLMɅ MɅTER solar project is located on a 40-hectare property belonging to the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences in the province of Chiriquí. With an installed capacity of 40 megawatts-peak [MWp], it consists of four solar plants that will supply clean energy to the University of Panama through the national power grid. More than 90,000 students and 10,000 professors and staff across the country will benefit from a stable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly energy supply. This development not only improves the university’s energy efficiency but also contributes to Panama’s energy security—particularly in a context where climate change has made hydroelectric generation, which accounts for half of the country’s electricity supply, increasingly vulnerable.
In addition to representing nearly 10% of the national solar matrix and preventing the emission of approximately 380,000 tons of CO₂ over the next 35 years, ɅLMɅ MɅTER includes a strategic and innovative academic component. Thanks to a framework agreement with Greenwood Energy, the project will contribute around 30 million dollars over the next 20 years to strengthen the University of Panama’s academic training in sustainability and clean energy. Once this period is completed, the solar project will be transferred to the UP, generating further savings in its energy costs and increasing its base of strategic assets.
During his address, Juan Carlos Navarro, Panama’s Minister of Environment, stated that solar energy is both the future and the present: “This is how it should be: clean energy, with real social impact, where collaboration between the public and private sectors translates into opportunities for people, development for our communities, and a new energy model that is fairer, more accessible, and smarter.”
This investment will enable the creation of new research programs, the strengthening of laboratories, the inclusion of specialized content in the curriculum, the awarding of scholarships, and the development of student internships. For Eduardo Flores Castro, Rector of the University of Panama, ɅLMɅ MɅTER represents a milestone with great historical significance: “As Rector of the University of Panama, it is a source of great satisfaction and pride to announce the commissioning of the ɅLMɅ MɅTER solar power plant, located on the grounds of our Faculty of Agricultural Sciences in Chiriquí. This achievement positions us as one of the few mega-universities that is committed to green energy”.
The achievement of this project was made possible thanks to the collaboration of various strategic partners who, from the outset, supported it based on a shared vision of progress. Such is the case of Global Bank, which provided the necessary financing, while the Spanish company SEMI, with more than 100 years of experience in the infrastructure sector, was responsible for engineering, procurement, and construction. Juan Pablo Crane, CEO of Greenwood Energy, stated: “At Greenwood, we strive for all our projects to leave a mark: a sustainable mark; a mark aligned with our environment and with a positive impact on the communities we touch. Our mission is to leave a mark that embraces our vision of the world, where progress and sustainability are one. Guided by this mission, we work with the conviction that renewable energy is much more than a source of electricity; it is a beacon of hope for a more prosperous and sustainable future. We see it as a tool to transform realities under a unique concept, which we have embodied in our series of projects Reimagining Development, through which we promote initiatives that, in addition to generating clean energy, allow us to leave a deep and meaningful positive impact on our environment.”
ɅLMɅ MɅTER is part of GWE’s Reimagining Development project series, an initiative that promotes sustainable solar models where environmental protection, community development, and education converge. This approach—also present in projects such as TERRɅ INITIɅTIVE in Colombia—demonstrates how public-private-community partnerships can transform traditional development models and generate lasting impacts in the territories that need them most. In addition, ɅLMɅ MɅTER aims to establish itself as a replicable model for other public universities in the region and as a benchmark for future energy policies in Panama and Latin America.
“Today we celebrate more than the construction of energy infrastructure. We celebrate an alliance between the University of Panama, the private sector, and the banking sector to transform Panama’s energy present and future,” said Menelao Mora de la Lastra, GWE’s Country Manager for Panama. “This project not only supplies clean energy to one of the country’s most important institutions, but it will also foster the training of professionals who will lead Latin America’s energy transition,” Menelao concluded.
In an era where energy, environmental, and educational challenges converge, ɅLMɅ MɅTER not only addresses the present but also inspires a future where academia, knowledge, and community move forward together toward a fairer, cleaner, and more human model of development.
The summary video of the ɅLMɅ MɅTER inauguration is available here.