A WIND station, which is expected to boost the data gathering capacity of the Hinterland Electrification Company Inc. of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, was installed at Onverwagt, Berbice.

It is said to be the first of its kind to be installed by the ministry. According to the release from the ministry, the 60-meter wind resource measuring station is a project cited as a cooperative effort between the Government of Guyana, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF).

“The key goal of this project is to promote renewable energy technologies through Guyana’s Sustainable Energy Program in urban and off-grid areas with the objectives to: increase energy access in Guyana; reduce long-term operational costs (primarily fuel costs) of on-grid generation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector,” the ministry said.

It was noted that the importance of the wind tower is to yield quality wind data, which can be used by wind project investors to develop wind farms in Guyana along its coast.
The ministry said it recognises that high quality wind measurement is an essential ingredient in determining the feasibility of the wind project.

“The ministry’s expectation is that within one to two years of [collecting] high-quality data from tall met-masts (60-80 meters height), wind project developers can prepare a bankable feasibility report which can then lead to the financing of wind farm projects.”

The tower consists of three wind speed sensors, wind direction sensors, temperature and a relative humidity sensor. Over the next six months, the Hinterland Electrification Company will be installing three additional wind towers to facilitate the agenda of instituting renewable energy sources along the coast of Guyana.