Powering the hinterland – solar farms to be set up soon
Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson
Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson

By Alva Solomon

AS MANY as 25 hinterland communities across Guyana could benefit from solar farm projects the government intends to roll out soon, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, said on Monday.

The solar farms are expected to channel power to key buildings, such as health centres, schools and police stations; and also provide electricity for community business ventures.

Under a previous project, some 20,000 solar panels have been distributed to individual homes in hinterland areas.

Funding for the solar farm projects has already been secured from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as part of a US$5 million Sustainable Energy Programme which started in 2014, Mr Horace Williams, head of the Hinterland Electrification Project, told the Guyana Chronicle.

The solar farm projects form part of the government’s renewable energy drive, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, told the Natural Resources Committee of the National Assembly on Monday. He said that as the government pursues its plans for the sector, solar and hydro-electricity projects are being considered.

As regards the plan for solar farms, he said communities will benefit depending on where they are located.

Opposition Parliamentarian Pauline Sukhai, who sits on the parliamentary committee, had questions about the stakeholders who will be overseeing the renewable energy projects for hinterland communities; and Minister Patterson said those would include the Ministry of Business, the Guyana Energy Agency, the Guyana Power and Light Inc., and members of the Natural Resources Committee.

Patterson said the process is expected to get underway in April.

In response to a query from Sukhai, he made it clear that the intention is not to distribute individual solar panels to hinterland homes, but to set up solar farms that would distribute the power to various key sites.

As regards consideration for individual communities, he said that a body will be established to this effect. “We are setting up; there is a committee which has been set up to address certain criteria”, he said.

He said that body comprises the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, and the GEA.

“The process is to keep consultations with relevant stakeholders to finalize the criteria,” he said.

Mr Williams, mentioned earlier, said a plan also has to be devised to ensure the sustainability of the solar farm projects.
In the case of the home systems, families would be required to pay $500 a month, and this would go into a revolving fund managed by village councils, which would be used to sustain the project, Williams stated.

Minister Patterson noted that the government has made submissions to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) to cover, at concessional financing, 50% of the cost of another project.

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