–as gov’t forges ahead with renewable energy plans

A NUMBER of hydro-power projects, both ‘mini’ and ‘micro,’ are in the pipeline, as the government forges ahead with its strategic planning for renewable energy.
This was announced on Friday by Chairman of the National Task Force Commission (NTFC), Major-General (Ret’d) Joseph Singh during a news conference at the Ministry of Public Infrastructure.

Singh said that the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) as well as international energy agencies are in the process of examining what offers the best opportunities in terms of cost and time.
“Strategic planning, in terms of energy, is on the front burner, whether solar, wind or hydro,” he said, adding that the GEA will shortly be developing a mini hydropower system at Kato in Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni).

Plans are also in train, he said, to have Dynamic Engineering, a local company, resuscitate the hydro-project at Tumatumari, also in Region Eight.
Similar projects are also being developed at Hosororo, in Region One (Barima-Waini), and such other hinterland areas as the North West District.
Smaller systems will also be set up in other parts of the country, Singh said, so as to create “an energy mix.”

Back in 2012, the then incumbent People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration had announced that it was pursuing the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP), and that it was to have been funded, to the tune of US$80M, by the Government of Norway under the Guyana Redd+ Investment Fund (GRIF) as part of a government-led Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). However, the project in its entirety had an estimated cost of US$858M.

Dogged by claims of lack of transparency, it was presented to the National Assembly, but the current government, which was then in opposition, had raised several objections, one of which was that adequate information had not been provided on the financing of the project, while another was that the design had several flaws. As such, it was widely felt at the time that the viability and longevity of the project could not be guaranteed.

With the new government taking office in 2015 with the goal of placing the country on a path of ‘green’ growth, the project was discussed anew with the Norwegian government and an agreement was reached to have an independent third party review the project to determine its viability.

The Government of Norway has since released a report on the review of the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP) done by Norconsult, an engineering and design consultancy firm out of Norway, which was commissioned to complete an ‘objective, and facts-based’ assessment of the project on the agreement of two Governments.

It was reported that the Guyana Government is working to complete a long-term energy plan, which outlines a mix of renewable energy options, and it is believed that the report has identified several risks and flaws in the design of the project, which threaten its long-term effectiveness and may prove too costly and burdensome to the people of Guyana and the country as a small developing state.