While speaking to farmers recently during a visit to the Mahaica, Mahaicony and Abary (MMA) areas, the Guyanese Head of State highlighted the importance of these alternative sources of energy.

“Cheaper electricity is vital to industrialisation and this country shouldn’t be importing, spending hundreds of millions of US dollars. When oil prices were US$147 per barrel we were spending close to US$350M a year importing fuel to run this country,” President Jagdeo said.

Studies have shown that Guyana with its vast cascading waterways has immense potential for hydropower. The Turtruba Hydro Project in the Mazaruni, Region Seven, has been identified through a feasibility study in 2002 as one such that could supply power to the Caribbean region.

The Enman group, a Trinidad-based company has projected that the Turtruba Hydropower project has the potential of producing more than 11,000 megawatts of power with minimal environmental degradation.

The hydropower technology which Enman proposes will allow isolated power sources to be transmitted to Brazil and parts of the Caribbean. Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica could be beneficiaries of the power supply.

The Amaila falls in Region Eight, is another potential location capable of supplying some 140 megawatts of power that has the capacity to satisfy 70 percent of Guyana’s electricity needs.

It was envisaged that the Amaila falls project will include a US$200M hydro station coupled with a dam and transmission lines.

Hydropower is however, among a list of the large-scale impending investments that were put on hold as a result of the rippling effect of the global financial crisis.

The Head of State made reference to the US$1B alumina plant for the bauxite industry to be constructed by a Chinese company but which was suspended. This project would have been by far the largest investment for Guyana. Similar difficulties were also faced with hydropower.

“We went out to bid for the hydropower and the people had difficulties raising the money and they had some other technical difficulties. The hydropower price came in and now it’s about US$600M but that has been delayed a bit,” President Jagdeo said.

He added that this challenge was added to the priority given to the construction of a bridge across the Berbice River which was a project in the making since the 1960s.

Given that the bridge is now complete, President Jagdeo said the next task is for the construction of a hydropower station.