THE wind measurement tower on the Atlantic foreshore at Onverwagt, West Coast Berbice, erected by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI) in 2019 has been restored and is supplying data for the renewable energy power mix.

Head of the Hinterland Electrification Company Inc (HECI) in the MPI, Horace Williams, disclosed, on Monday, that since the restoration, the tower has been providing vital data on wind speeds in the area.

The project is a test to see if the wind power could be converted into electrical energy.
Williams said data will be collected over the next 11 months and after then decisions will be made on the way forward.

He noted: “In terms of potential for conversion into electrical energy, the wind speed information from Onverwagt to date is very encouraging.”
The current wind resource measurement project at Onverwagt is part of an initiative aimed at installing four such stations along the Atlantic Coast.

Three more are to be installed along the coastline of Region Six (East Berbice/ Corentyne), the locations being at Port Mourant,   Number 63 Village and Crabwood Creek.
The projects are being rolled out with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and management support for HECI from the Inter-American Bank
Williams disclosed that the establishment of the wind measurement stations is in keeping with government’s thrust to use 100 per cent renewable energy in the power sector by 2025.

“We have done much work with solar energy to date. We looking at hydro power and of course we want wind power too in the sustainable energy programme mix; hence, this project.”

The project at Onverwagt was launched in 2019 but was stalled by the acts of vandals who damaged several important electronic components of the tower
Williams said the site had since been secured with additional infrastructure.
He disclosed that the HECI is still evaluating the locations for additional stations since lands along the coastline on these villages in Region Six were mainly privately owned.

“We may want to set up wind turbines after the assessments so we want to place the towers on state-owned lands since we don’t want to run into land ownership issues at a later stage,” he said.