Dear Editor,
I wish to finally vent my growing disgust at the government for their backward, outdated and obsolete approach to Guyana’s energy supply. It is bad enough that the Guyanese public and businesses face huge bills for electricity because the government has failed to get better systems on stream by now. We are still using fossil fuels, ie diesel, gasoline, etc, which are expensive, unsustainable, old fashioned and heavily polluting. And I am hoping that the government is not thinking that if and when CGX finds oil we will finally be well off in supplying our systems. This approach is obsolete and unsustainable, not to mention that it creates lots of greenhouse gas. Many countries of the world are moving forward by putting money and effort into finding ways of using renewable energy in order to supply the public and industry. We are still depending on combustion turbines!
While Suriname is enjoying cheap, clean energy from hydro, we have been struggling to get ours off the ground for years. And while Spain and the US are investing in world famous solar power fields, and other European and North American countries are putting up wind turbines, we are floundering with our antiquated system.
I am not suggesting hydro dams are best, since they can require large areas to be put under water and people relocated. There are other ways to generate energy from water that are not so drastic and can be closer to the coast. The government needs to do its homework.
To make things worse, the little good that was achieved in making solar panels and other renewable energy generation equipment tax free, is in danger of being undone. As it was just announced that they were considering taxing this type of equipment once again! Are we so backward as to go back to the dark ages, to even consider such a move?
Guyanese were just getting used to the idea that one day they will be able to install solar panels on their houses, encouraged by the tax-free status. Now we are being told that this possibility could now be pulled out from under us. The government should have subsidized panels further, but they have gone the other way and are considering making them even more expensive to obtain.
The more people use renewable energy sources, the less the burden there would be on our antiquated fossil-fuel, turbine-driven, smoke-producing setup. Which could lead to fewer blackouts and other problems. Those who generate their own renewable energy could even sell excess energy to the grid, thus stabilizing our energy system, as is done in more advanced countries. Last time I checked such an arrangement would be a good thing. But no, it seems that the administration wants to keep us tied to GPL so that we go down together.
The government needs to be aware that this fossil fuel approach is fast becoming obsolete and I strongly urge them to do more, not less.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
