– Guyana opens 4th Regional Meeting of global Solar Alliance

THE Government of Guyana is committed to achieving a low-carbon economy and advancing Guyana’s energy transition.

This is according to Prime Minister Brigadier Ret’d Mark Phillips who made these remarks at the welcome dinner which was hosted at the Guyana Marriott Hotel, Kingston, for the International Solar Alliance (ISA)’s 4th regional meeting of the Latin America and Caribbean region.

During his remarks at the dinner, he noted that Guyana recognizes the substantial contribution of the International Solar Alliance to its members through the increasing deployment of solar energy technologies in order to drive the energy transition in those countries, while also enhancing energy access and energy security.

As such, the Prime Minister, who holds responsibility for electrification, noted that Guyana has benefitted from support in the areas of technical cooperation and grant assistance.
These projects, he added, include training in the area of solar technology along with the Solar Photovoltaic (PV) demonstration project at the Orealla Health Centre, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

“The Government of Guyana is committed to achieving a low-carbon economy and advancing the nation’s transition away from conventional energy sources,” he noted.
The support received from the ISA, the Prime Minister remarked, coincides with the country’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) which promotes the development of solar farms, solar grids, and solar home systems as part of the energy transformation.

The Prime Minister told the gathering that he was happy that Guyana is hosting the regional meeting as Guyana currently serves as Vice-President on the committee.
The hosting of the meeting, he revealed, will see Latin America and the Caribbean region reviewing and aligning national strategic priorities and regional initiatives as they relate to solar power generation, in keeping with the goals of the ISA.

Meanwhile, Director-General of the ISA, Dr Ajay Mathur, said that the leadership the region has shown in the transition to green energy should be applauded.
Dr Mathur added that the transition to green and renewable energy comes with many benefits, as it reduces pollution, reduces the cost of energy, and can also aid in providing jobs for people.

To this end, he emphasized the ISA’s commitment to stand with Guyana and support its projects including the Low Carbon Development Strategy, and even providing assistance to grow solar projects here.
Further, the Director-General mentioned that he was excited to be here for the meeting and to also be present to inaugurate the one-megawatt solar plant here in Guyana.

“This is the first step in creating this kind of large amounts of energy… it forces us to think of the kinds of challenges that exist, it forces us to think of the kinds of changes that you can make,” Dr Mathur expressed.
Also present at the dinner was Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, who noted that a lot of the projects that were being pushed by the ISA member states in the region are renewable energy related.

He specifically mentioned Guyana and Barbados as he noted that the two countries have been on a serious regime of advancing the transition to clean energy, based on the mounting global threat of climate change.
“We, in this region, are working with ISA to make sure we can learn; we can benefit from the skill within the ISA secretariat, and we continue to work with Dr Ajay Mathur and his team,” Indar said.

The ISA’s 4th Regional Meeting of the Latin America and Caribbean Region is expected to begin today and continues to Thursday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.

Guyana has made significant strides to push its energy transition forward with the implementation of several projects. Most recently, Guyana and Norway entered into a landmark partnership for financing Guyana’s largest solar power projects.

This partnership will see some 27,000 homes benefitting from the solar power projects. Also, late last year, the government secured some US$75 million in funding to establish solar farms in eight grids as part of the updated and expanded Low Carbon Development Strategy.