Resource Efficiency The LNG terminal and the generation block will be installed in the same site, allowing synergies between both facilities, particularly with regard to the exchange of heat/cold for cooling of ambient air and operating the regasification system. The proposed combined cycle power generating facility uses one of the most highly efficient technologies for the generation of electric power. The General Electric 6FA Combustion Turbine efficiency increases from 35% when operating in simple cycle mode to 54.7% when operating in combined cycle mode. In a combined cycle mode the waste heat from the combustion turbines is captured in a heat recovery steam generator which transforms the waste heat into steam energy to drive a steam generator. The steam generator provides a secondary source of electric generation. Through this process, the overall project will take advantage of the highest level of efficiency of resource utilization, i.e. natural gas, by optimizing the generation of electricity per unit of natural gas input. Additional efficiencies to be realized by the project are the result of optimizing the heat balance between the power plant and the adjacent LNG terminal. The LNG, which will be transported and stored at minus 160 degrees centigrade, requires the input of heat energy to raise the temperature of the LNG during the vaporization process to natural gas. The project will optimize the overall thermal and resource efficiency through a closed loop water/glycol mixture, which will circulate through the vaporizers to warm the LNG and form natural gas, thus cooling the water/glycol mixture. The water/glycol mixture will then be sent to the power plant where it will be used in the combustion turbine inlet air chillers, thus increasing the overall efficiency of the turbines. The water/glycol mixture then will be sent to the power plant’s cooling water condenser, where it will pick up additional heat before returning to the LNG vaporizers, thus completing the loop. This process will improve the overall heat balance of the project while minimizing the discharge of heated/cooled water to the environment. Water For the operational water needs for both the power plant and LNG terminal, the Project will use approximately 25,073m3/hr of water from Limon Bay, of which approximately 24,000m3/hr will be discharged back to the same water body. The project will consume approximately 1,073m3/hr for process water makeup, potable water and other miscellaneous uses. The heat transfer optimization between the power plant and LNG terminal, presented above, not only minimizes the use of fuel for vaporization of the LNG, but also minimizes the use of water by taking advantage of the waste heat from the power plant to reduce the overall combined water intake and discharge of the overall project. Water for construction will be purchased from a local vendor and delivered to the project site by truck. Operational process and potable water will come from an on-site desalination system utilizing reverse osmosis. Wastes from the RO system will be discharged through the cooling water system, which will be designed to meet both the applicable Panamanian regulatory requirements and those of the IFC. The Project will have a 200 m sea-water pipeline with an intake depth of 8 m and a discharge pipeline with a discharge depth of 14 m. Both will be located at the limits of the Panama Port concession (with a distance of 600 m between them. Potential sources of water pollution during construction of the onsite (power plant, LNG facility, berth, etc.) and offsite facilities (dredging) include sedimentation and runoff from the project site into Limon Bay, fuels and chemical spills. The EPC contractor is being required by the company to establish controls such as use of silt barriers, hay bales and other methods as prescribed by good international industry practices (GIIP), to control sedimentation and runoff. Fuel and chemical spills will be controlled by ensuring equipment is operated in good condition, minimizing on-site equipment repair and maintenance, and providing adequate fuel and chemical storage areas with appropriate secondary containment. These measures will be presented in the EPC contractor Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the project which will be prepared for the project. Dredging The EPC contractor will conduct dredging in an approximately 62 ha area to a 14 m depth for the channel access, dock, and ship maneuvering area. The estimated volume of sediment to be removed is 3.5 million m3. The dredge disposal site, Manzanillo-3, which is being authorized by the Panamá Maritime Authority (AMP) is located in Limon Bay approximately 8.7 km from the Project site, east of the breakwater. This site is currently used as a docking area for ships waiting passage through the Panama Canal and was identified previously by the AMP as one of the dredge spoil disposal areas for the dredging of the Panamá Canal. As part of the ESIA, six samples from the sediment to be dredged were obtained to determine the potential presence of petroleum hydrocarbons and heavy metals possibly explained by the presence of nearby pollution sources (i.e., passage and berthing of ships, and the urban discharges of the Limon Bay.) The results, which were compared with those recommended by the Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines (CEQGS, 2003), demonstrated elevated concentrations of arsenic and copper, potentially the result of adjacent port facilities. As the sediment has elevated concentrations of arsenic and copper, the dredging will be conducted using means to reduce the extent of the sedimentation plume such as conducting suction dredging, and installing siltation screens around this operation. The EPC contractor will develop a detailed dredging plan which will be submitted to IFC by the company as indicated in ESAP action # 11 prior to beginning the dredging operations. As the dredging is conducted, additional sediment sampling will be conducted to better characterize the sediments to be removed. GHG Emissions Combined cycle power plants are the most efficient fossil fuel fired technologies available today with correspondingly lower air emissions including CO2. The Project will generate 4,327 GWh/yr of electrical energy with annual CO2 emissions of 2.2 million tCO2/yr. This represents 8.3% of the total CO2 emissions based on the most recent information in Panamá which is from year 2000. Greenhouse gas (GHG) contributions from the facility will be routinely calculated and recorded during operations. Pollution Prevention As part of the ESIA, the company conducted physic-chemical characterization of the soil and groundwater in the project area. The results reported no soil contamination on the surface level. However, high lead concentrations were found in the underground water, which requires the EPC contractor taken additional mitigation measures to avoid any contact of this water with the sea during the construction process Air Emissions and Ambient Air Quality As part of the ESIA, the Institute of Analysis of the University of Panama conducted surveys in the area near the project site. The results reflected the activities in the vicinity of the project site such as passage of boats, vehicles and public transport, unpaved roads, landfill, fuel storage tank truck operation, etc. The measured ambient parameters (PM10, PM2.5, NO2, and SO2) reported some exceedances to the local required concentrations. Expected air emissions from the site preparation and construction include mainly combustion gases from energy generation and vehicles and machinery, and dust. Key control measures to be implemented during these phases include dust suppression though covered transport of excavated earth; water road spraying during the dry season, especially during strong wind conditions; regulated vehicles speed; regular road maintenance; grading and compacting road surfaces to prevent uneven running surfaces to prevent both noise and dust impacts. In addition, mandatory preventive vehicles and equipment maintenance to reduce generation of combustions gases will be also implemented. The EPC contractor environmental management plan will detailed these measures as well as the implementation procedures. The air impacts during operation will be primarily generated through the combustion of natural gas at the power plant with emissions primarily of NOx, CO and CO2. Small amounts of air emissions during operation can also be expected from vehicles, LNG tanker ships, trim heaters at the LNG terminal (if required), and emergency diesel generators which will be operated infrequently. The project is being designed to comply with the IFC emissions requirements for gas fired and light fuel oil fired combustion turbines. For the operation phase, the company will install PM, SOx, NOx, CO2, CO and O2 continuous emission monitors to take real time measurements of the project stack emissions. As part of the ESIA, the company conducted dispersion modeling using the USEPA ISCST3 v3-air dispersion model. The results of the model showed that the power plant impacts on ambient air quality will be also below both the Panamanian and IFC standards. During construction and operation, ambient air quality conditions, at the sensitive receptors identified as part of the air dispersing modeling, will be periodically conducted to ascertain that the good conditions are maintained. Noise Construction activities will take place over a period of approximately two years, primarily during daytime hours. Both, the construction and operation phases will generate noise. During construction, the noise will be temporary and associated with vehicle and equipment operation as well as potentially pile driving, blasting, and other construction related activities. The EPC contractor will take measures to reduce the noise levels operating in accordance with the IFC and national law noise requirements, even though there are no nearby communities with may be affected by the construction noise. The Cadna/A® Noise Prediction Model (Version 4.4.145) was used to estimate sound levels at the nearest sensitive receptors (i.e., an unoccupied structure in Arco Iris, a single family home in Arco Iris, and a multifamily home in Cristobal) due to project operations at calm wind, northern and western wind conditions, The model results indicate that project operations during the daytime hours would be compliant with WHO and WBG guidance thresholds. The model also indicated that only during an infrequent but “worst-case” wind scenario when six CTGs and two STGs are operating would noise from the project exceed the nighttime limit of 45 dBA at the nearest of the three NSRs. Analysis of individual sources in the project operations noise model scenarios developed revealed that the exhaust stacks are the loudest—and by a margin of several dBA above the next-loudest acoustical contributors. Therefore, aiming to operate according to compliance at all times, the project will design and install exhaust stack muffler, whenever it begins operating when six CTGs and two STGs, to help yielding overall noise reduction at the nearest sensitive receptors. In addition, the company will conduct periodic monitoring and, as needed, implement additional noise reduction measures to ensure it will operate in accordance with IFC and national law noise requirements Wastewater Treatment The baseline surface water analyses conducted in the project area reported that the fecal coliforms levels and the biological oxygen demand concentration, exceed local as well as IFC requirements. This is possibly due to the presence untreated wastewater discharges being made. The Bay waters assessment results, close to the dredging area, indicating that only the fecal coliforms exceed the local as well as IFC requirements. This is due to the presence of coastal sewage discharges. In the dredging disposal area, studies provided by the ACP (URS, 2008) indicated that the site presents total and suspended solids levels above the local as well as IFC requirements. In the case of dissolved oxygen, they indicated values higher than 4.0 mg/l, indicating that the site presents conditions suitable for aquatic life. The domestic wastewater during the construction phase will be handled by portable toilets. During operation, the sanitary wastes will be treated in a compact activated sludge wastewater treatment plant designed for the project in accordance to local and IFC requirements. The sludge will be transported off site by a licensed contractor and the treated effluent from the treatment facility discharged through the water circulation discharge pipe to Limon Bay. For the power plant and the LNG terminal process wastewaters, AES will built a wastewater treatment system able to treat discharges to the required local and IFC requirements The oily plant drains will be pass through an oil water separator prior to final treatment and disposal. Once treated, the project wastewater will be discharged to Limon Bay. To ensure that the project will emit temperatures lower than 3 degrees centigrade with respect to the average temperature of the discharge area in the mixing zone, the project designed a plant cooling discharge system. The discharge system will consist of a 60 m pipe with multi-port diffusors (30 holes - 2 m spacing) to optimize dispersion of the heated effluent within the bay. As part of the ESIA, the company ran thermal plume modeling, by using the CORMIX model. The results showed that the thermal plume will be reduced to 3 degrees centigrade within 100 m from the discharge pipe, thus complying with both the Panamanian and IFC thermal limit of 3 degrees centigrade above ambient temperature within 100 m. In addition, the discharge system was optimized based on a model simulation of the dispersion of the thermal plume and corresponding minimization of the area of involvement around the discharge points. Soils As the project site will be raised by approximately 3.5 m in elevation, a significant amount of fill from an offsite location will be required. AES will provide details of the fill sources, permitting schemes, as well as impacts and mitigations, along with a specific plan for the safe transport of the fill material along with a traffic management plan as indicated in the AES. An incinerator, which is being operating in an area of approximately 5 ha located in the Southwest quadrant of the project site, is being removed. The incinerator operator conducted an initial soil assessment of two samples to assess the soil conditions of the incineration project site. Even though the results indicated no soil contamination, this operator commissioned a Phase II site assessment which included the collection and analysis of 60 soil samples and 6 groundwater samples distributed around the location of the incinerator and adjacent areas. The soil samples which were taken at 10 cm, 1 meter, and 20m depth, were analyzed for metals, chlorinated hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, aromatic compounds, PCBs, cyanide, acrylonitrile, acrylamide, microbiological analysis (Carbon microbial, soil microbial respiration (IAM)), nitrite, nitrate and sulfate. In addition groundwater samples were also taken and analyzed for alkalinity, oils and grease, cyanide, chloride, biological oxygen demand (BOD), detergents, total hydrocarbons, dissolved oxygen, color, pH, temperature, suspended solids, dissolved solids, floating solids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, turbidity and metals. The Phase II report indicated that there were some contaminated areas. The groundwater results indicated that all parameters are within their respective maximum permissible limits with the exception of selenium which exceeded the limit at one site and lead which exceed the allowable limit at five of the six sampling stations The Project will also execute additional measures on the incinerator area to ascertain that the area has been completely remediated (if needed) before received it formally The results of this assessment will be submitted to IFC as per ESAP action # 4. The company will coordinate with the land owner about appropriate disposal if needed of soil material (according to samples to be taken during construction stage). Solid Waste Management The ESIA for the project indicated that approximately 0.75 m3/day of solid waste will be generated during the constructional phase. While an estimate of operational phase hazardous waste generation was not presented in the ESIA, it is expected that a smaller volume of solid waste would be generated in this phase of the project. The wastes to be generated during the construction phase (i.e., packing materials, used lubricating oil, batteries, empty drums of paint/solvent/additives, oily sludge, contaminated soils from spills, electrical and mechanical components, etc.) will be segregated and properly stored in a temporary on-site waste disposal area managed by the EPC contractor. It is anticipated they will be disposed by licensed waste treatment contractors). All operational wastes such as waste chemicals and lubricants, office wastes, used rags, packing materials and others will be strictly controlled and the waste management plan to be developed, as part of the management plans and procedures for the operation phase, the company will establish the waste management procedures to be implemented to ensure its storage, treatment and disposal in accordance with national legislation and IFC requirements. As part of the waste management plan, AES will develop a tracking system for the collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of all hazardous waste streams leaving the site location. For the operation phase, AES will have a dedicated roofed well ventilated hazardous waste area in the downstream wind direction, meeting all relevant fire code requirements, with impervious sloped floor, drainage channel, and sump and pump system. This area will have segregated areas by chemical characteristics; restricted entrance/exit and eyewash and showers. The hazardous wastes will be delivered to a government approved site for delivering hazardous wastes through an approved contractor. Hazardous Materials Various hazardous materials such as paints, lubricants and other construction related materials will be used during construction of the project. For the operation phase, the hazardous chemicals will be stored in dedicated and secure locations. All hazardous storage areas will have external and internal signs indicating the class and classification of the substances stored. The storage areas will be well-ventilated buildings and placed away from flammable materials and sources of heat, fire or explosion (i.e., gas pipelines, flammable liquids, flammable solids and combustible materials). They will undergo regular inspections and maintenance of electrical equipment and fittings; smoking will be strictly forbidden; and clearly displaying material safety datasheets and safety instructions in the storage area will be available. The 180,000 m3 LNG storage tank will be designed to meet all applicable GIIP and Panamanian and IFC requirements. The tanks will be equipped with safety devices and instrumentation for the detection and monitoring of flows, to ensure protection against over-filling, overflow, over-pressure or vacuum under various modes of operation. The LNG will be stored at - 160 ° C, almost at atmospheric pressure, in a total containment tank. The tank is formed by two tanks, one inside another. The inner tank is cryogenic steel (that supports very low temperatures) and has a thickness of several cm. This tank is surrounded by insulating material and the outer tank, which is made of pre-stressed concrete 1 meter thick. In the unlikely event the metal inner tank were to suffer a leak, the outer tank would contain the LNG and any vapors.