By Tamica Garnett in Barbados
WITH work on several major projects already ongoing in Guyana, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has signalled a strong interest in supporting renewable energy projects through financing and technical support.

Director of Projects at the CDB, Daniel Best, said that the institution shares an excellent relationship with Government of Guyana, and will be open to developing projects in renewable energy

“Given our expertise and given the commitment of the Government of Guyana, we are excited about the prospect of working closely with them to develop initiatives in the renewable energy space,” Best said in an invited comment on the sidelines of the CDB’s annual press conference at the CDB headquarters in Barbados.

He added: “It would be no different from what our approach is to financing renewable energy projects in any of our Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs). We see the importance of it and we have an excellent relationship with the administration in Guyana and we know how they value the CDB.”

In Guyana, the government is currently striving to lower energy costs by at least 50 per cent through an energy mix which includes several renewable energy initiatives that incorporate solar, wind, and hydropower.

The energy mix being crafted by the government is geared at looking well beyond the country’s current energy needs, but also focusing on catering for well- forecasted future demand.

In the development of hydropower, the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP) is transformational and highly anticipated.

Further, under the Hinterland Electrification Programme, in excess of 19,000 solar PV systems have been installed in nearly 200 communities.

The government is also in the process of constructing eight large-scale solar farms. The eight utility-scale, photovoltaic solar projects totaling 33M Megawatts- peak (MWp) with associated 34 Megawatt hour (MWh) energy storage systems are distributed across three areas in the country.

The CDB currently has a number of multimillion-dollar projects ongoing in Guyana, with one being the US$190 million Linden to Mabura Hill road, one of the largest funded project in the history of the Bank.

The CDB is also nearing completion of the US$14.04 million Skills Development and Employability programme, which aims to assist the government to enhance access to, and improve, the quality and effectiveness of the technical and vocational education and training in Guyana.  The project includes the establishment of six practical instruction centres (PICs) across the country to boost TVET delivery.

The CDB is also involved in the building of Guyana’s Hospitality and Tourism Training Institute to the tune of U$11.656 million and has injected US$30.902 million into Guyana’s Sea and River Defence Resilience Project.