– Islamic Bank may fund three others

THE Hosororo hydropower project will be commissioned in June and the Islamic Development Bank will be approached to finance three additional hydro-powered projects during a visit by officials here in the coming week.

This is according to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Energy Agency(GEA), Dr Mahender Sharma, who pointed out that the tiny hydro was completed in Hosororo, Mabaruma, Region One, for capacity-building efforts. The structure which was available in the 1980s was rehabilitated.

“We are going to commission that facility sometime in June,” he said.
He said this week the Islamic Development Bank will be approached to finance an additional three hydro-powered sites and one of them is the Ikuribisi hydro which will power the town of Bartica.

“We want to rehabilitate the Moco-Moco hydropower station, which was defunct as a result of a landslide; and we want to look at a new site right in Region Nine on the Kanuku Mountain range, the Kumu falls, which together can serve the growing demand in Lethem,” Dr Sharma said.

In 2015, the German Government, through its German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) initiative, committed to assisting the GEA with the rehabilitation of the Hosororo Hydropower facility in Region One.

The US$165,175 project received US$91,108 in financing from the Government of Guyana and US$74,067 in financing from GIZ.

The resuscitated hydropower project featured a new design that was conceptualised by GEA engineers and a GIZ consultant, Sven Homscheid.
It entails the installation of a 20kW run-of-the-river-type micro hydropower plant, comprising a Weir/Intake structure, Penstock and Powerhouse. .

The construction of the micro hydropower plant was completed in 2018 and works related to interconnection with the Mabaruma electric grid carried it into 2019.
Meanwhile, the Moco-Moco hydropower project, Region Nine, was commissioned on November 22, 1999.

The hydropower station was designed and built by the Chinese through a joint arrangement between the Governments of Guyana and China.

The Moco-Moco hydropower station is a run-of-the-river, diversion-type with a high-water head. It will supply power to the community of Lethem and its environs.
Severe rainstorms and a subsequent landslide on July 5, 2003, had resulted in a fractured penstock.

Government has since been actively discussing options for its restoration. Financing is needed for a geotechnical survey to inform the project design and assist in de-risking the project.

Further, the proposed Kumu Hydropower Project entails the installation of a 1.5 MW hydropower plant and construction of a transmission line.
The Kumu Creek, located in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), is also part of the Amazon River System.

The creek originates from north of the Kanuku range, converging into the Takutu River which is a boundary river between Guyana and Brazil.

The Kumu site is situated 9.5 km from the Moco-Moco hydropower station.
The catchment areas of Kumu and Moco-Moco adjoin each other. The Kumu power station site is located 13 km south-east of the town of Lethem.

CONSTANT WATER LEVEL
The Kumu hydropower project topographical specifications can accommodate the construction of a small reservoir on the top of the mountain plateau, so as to maintain a constant water level for operation of the plant.

According to the GEA, together with the Moco Moco hydropower station, the Kumu hydropower plant can be a strong, reliable and redundant power supplier and controller for existing and future demand.

Additionally, the proposed Ikuribisi hydropower project entails the installation of a 1 MW hydropower plant and construction of a transmission line between the plant and the Bartica Power Station.

The site is situated about 45 km south of the town of Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

The hydropower system will be run as an energy-storage hydropower plant with a reservoir which can serve as a seasonal storage system.

The project will provide electricity from an indigenous and renewable energy source to serve the demand of Bartica. Bartica is considered the gateway to interior locations.
Bartica has been designated Guyana’s first ‘green’ town. The ‘Green’ Bartica Plan is a Government of Guyana initiative that involves a holistic approach to sustainable economic growth in the township.

The main objectives of the plan are to create a climate-resilient economy and to establish a green pathway for the foundation of a new Guyana, which will result in reducing the overall carbon footprint in electricity, agriculture, fisheries, water, forestry, waste, manufacturing, transport, construction, tourism and other sectors.
This project forms a complementary suite of energy initiatives to support the ‘Green’ Bartica Plan.

In addition to hydropower, a 1.5 MW solar farm is being developed to displace diesel generators. The hydropower plant will add additional capacity to the grid to meet the town’s growing demand, which currently ranges from 2 MW to 3 MW.