Photo courtesy of yourpanama.com/images.html.

From a technopark located only meters from the Panama Canal, Kris McCahon and a rapidly growing team tend to 3TIER’s Latin American operations.

Latin America is a big place, so 3TIER’s business there, which is primarily wind-related, represents many stages of maturation. Most clients are working on new wind energy developments: They’re using our FullView wind resource assessments to identify promising wind farm sites. In Chile, where potential natural gas shortages have spurred interest in renewable energy sources, 3TIER enjoys a partnership with Seawind International, an engineering, construction, and operations firm that both contracts to external clients and develops projects on its own. Seawind and 3TIER collaborate to deliver value to clients all the way from prospecting through due diligence and operations.

At the other end of the spectrum are polities that are looking for ways to include renewables in their national energy strategies. They may be interested in a national wind map, such as the one the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation engaged us to develop for Bolivia. In that vein, other groups seek wind maps of smaller areas to learn  where they might site so-called distributed energy projects, or installations that directly power an inhabited area without requiring a long-distance grid of power transmission lines.

Kris has been with 3TIER for just over a year, but he’s been studying and working in Latin America since his junior year in college. Romance convinced him to settle in Panama, but he makes it clear that it’s no sacrifice. “Panama is nice!” Kris says, describing the temperate highlands, the generous benefits to retirees, the opportunity for permanent residence with an investment in reforestation. Panama now dominates the escapist fantasies with which I frequently torment my family. “Honey,” I said to the husband, “pack your woodworking tools. We’re buying a hectare of teaks.”

Many of our clients in Latin America are also familiar with Arturo Méndez, who directs 3TIER’s business development efforts from Baja California to Ushuaia.  If you are interested in joining Kris and Arturo in our Panama office, see our Careers page for information about additional opportunities.