An exhibition focusing on alternative energy opened at the Umana Yana yesterday, with a call for public dialogue on how such technologies can reduce the country’s dependency on imported fossil fuels.
The exhibition was organized by the Office of the Prime Minister and is a collaborative effort of the Caribbean Renewable Energy Development Programme (CREDP) and the Govern-ment of Germany. It is being held under the theme ‘Advancing Renewable Energy Development in Guyana’.
A release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) said that Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, in his address at the formal opening of the exhibition, alluded to several projects in the making for the promotion of renewable energy, while highlighting projects such as the Skeldon co-generation project, the Hope Beach wind farm project and the hinterland electrification project.
GINA said that earlier efforts in the promotion of renewable energy also involved the distribution of over 40,000 energy-saving bulbs to households, which was done through partnership with the Cuban government.
The Prime Minister said rapidly escalating prices of fuel products have led to problematic implications. “At present, about 85 per cent of electricity generated in Guyana is derived from petroleum. Guyana’s import bill for petroleum this year could consume about 40 per cent of Guyana’s GDP,” the release quoted Hinds as saying.
Meanwhile, Principal Advisor to the CREDP/ German Government Com-ponent, Thomas Scheutzlich, in his address, said the objective of the exhibition goes beyond displaying “mature renewable energy technologies” and locally available technologies offered and applied by Guyanese energy service providers.
“it should initiate the public dialogue on how these technologies can be used to enhance Guyana’s energy mix and how these technologies can reduce the country’s dependency on imported fossil fuels for the benefit of the national economy and ultimately, for the benefit of the consumers of electricity,” he said.
He emphasized that the exhibition should further allow a critical review of the extent to which Guyana is using its abundant renewable energy sources and what can and needs to be done by all involved energy stakeholders to advance renewable development in the country.
Scheutzlich asserted that the exhibition is timely, pointing to high oil prices and the impact of the use of fossil fuels on climate change. He noted that in the case of Guyana, electricity prices have recently been increased and it is “not a secret that they will need to be gradually increased further in the near future”. He declared that such development does not only have consequences for domestic and commercial consumers of electricity but the ongoing price escalation on the world oil market puts the economical, political and social development in Caribbean countries like Guyana, at risk.
He said that despite the fact that Guyana is one of few Caribbean countries with a progressive energy policy in place; the use of renewable energies lags far behind its possibilities. He stated that reasons for this include the lack of awareness and knowledge about renewable energy technologies, how these technologies function, how they can be applied and the cost and access to them.
A presentation on the Turtruba Hydro Project was also done by Donald Baldeosingh, the Chief Executive Officer of the Enman Group.
Meantime, Eagles Resources Incorporated (ERI), Farfan and Mendes Limited (FML), the University Of Guyana Faculty Of Technology, the Office of the Prime Minister and the Guyana Energy Agency were among the exhibitors.
ERI and FML had solar panels, solar-powered pumps, solar water heaters, a solar-powered freezer, wind turbines and related equipment on display at the exhibition.
Project Coordinator of the exhibition Maxine Nestor said it is hoped that the event could be an annual one.
