Canadian High Com-missioner Nicole Giles on Thursday evening said that the time was ripe for diversity in Guyana’s energy profile as it would reduce reliance on imports of fossil fuels and help to guarantee the country’s energy security
Giles’ remarks come at a time when there is growing concern in Georgetown about whether the grim economic situation in Venezuela will bring an end to the PetroCaribe concessional fuel programme on which Guyana has depended for many years.
Delivering the keynote address at the Georgetown Chamber and Commerce’s Annual Dinner and Awards, on Thursday evening, Giles’ remarks also brought into focus the views of many here that despite Guyana being offered as a low carbon model, there has been very little incorporation of renewable energy on the power grid.
“Renewable energy presents a huge opportunity for Guyana to begin diversifying its national energy supply to include more renewables and less fossil fuel…the time is ripe to incorporate a larger mix into Guyana’s energy profile”, she told the gathering at the Pegasus Hotel.
Using Canada, the third largest producer of hydroelectric power, as a model and example for Guyana, the Canadian High Commissioner stressed that natural resources would not have to be sacrificed to attain this goal. She said that reduced foreign imports on fossil fuels will be economically beneficial for local businesses. “Reducing reliance on foreign imports of fossil fuels can only help guarantee Guyana’s energy security at the same time it increases options and reduces costs for businesses,” she said.
She pointed out that at a time when investment in clean energy technologies is growing worldwide, developing economies, like Guyana, cannot afford to continue to look the other way. “To look the other way or bury the proverbial head in the sand risks missing out on trade and growth opportunities that can be accrued, particularly for the growth of small and medium scale enterprises,” she added.
Giles opined that there is a significant amount of misinformation and misunderstanding of the business case for renewable energy, with many saying that the payback period was not commensurate with profit. According to her, research shows a different scenario, with payback period yields being not only very profitable but also timely.
The diplomat cited the commissioning in October this year of a 5 MW solar energy farm by Canadian gold company IAMGold in Suriname, which cost Cdn$10M to build but saves Cdn$5,000 per day in energy costs. At this rate, Cdn$7M will be recovered in one year.
She noted that the current volatility on the oil market – where the oil price fell to a four-year low last week – makes an excellent business case for modifying this country’s energy mix. “The coming years and decades will pose real challenges for energy consumption and security, particularly as we move more and more toward cleaner energy solutions…,” she stated.
“In the same way a firm diversifies its investments, or even markets, firms should also consider diversifying their energy sources to mitigate risks and maximize potential for growth. All countries, and particularly developing countries, such as Guyana, that have huge potential to develop renewables, should be encouraged to seek out safe, secure energy sources to help ensure sustainable economic growth,” she added.
Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh, who represented government at the function, agreed with Giles on all fronts, especially on the role of Guyana’s hydropower potential. Singh pointed to the Amaila Hydro Project as one way his government demonstrated that it was already on a path of renewable energy. That project collapsed last year as the government was unable to convince the opposition to support it. There were also many questions about its cost to the country and transparency.
Current GCCI President Lance Hinds said that his organisation continues to hope for affordable energy for Guyanese and the business sector. “Affordable, reliable power is critical to the nation’s future development but in 2014 still remains a very elusive quest. We continue to hope that a comprehensive solution is found soon to what has been a decades-old problem,” he said.
Hinds pointed to the many recent investments and expansions here saying that it was demonstrative of confidence in the Guyana economy but should not be taken for granted.
While he would not go into detail, Hinds pointed to the current political situation calling it a “period of uncertainty” and urged maturity among politicians. “Everybody is watching us now to see how we conduct ourselves during this period of some uncertainty… the Chamber believes that this is a time for maturity and level headedness, and not some of the political mechanisms that have characterised our landscape in the most recent past,” he said.
“How we manage our national affairs, our political and democratic processes now will set the tone and direction of this nation for many years to come… It would be nice to find a way to be less consumed by politics and concentrate more on how we make the policy adjustments necessary to make this economy grow even further and become more diverse,” he added.
The awards ceremony saw Massy Guyana Limited winning the Industry’s large business of the year award for its good performance in the areas of financial growth, customer satisfaction, internal processes improvements, employee relations, development and corporate citizenship.
The small business award of the year went to the New Guyana School.
Proprietor Jason Wang, of China Trading, which is located on Robb Street, carted off the young business executive award while the Lifetime achievement award was bestowed on Gordon Lyken of the Lyken Funeral Parlour.
The public service award of excellence was presented to the Government’s Analyst Food and Drug Department while the Corporate Citizenship Award went to Republic Bank Limited.
The award for innovation was given to Sterling Products Limited, which was hailed for its new yogurt product.
The long service award was copped by Modern Industries Limited.
The President’s award went to a company and a person with home of Church’s Chicken Camex Restaurant Incorporated taking one award and past president of the Chamber Clinton Urling the other.
The chambers award was also presented to two persons Patrick Sukhul of Impressions and Christopher Ram.
Stabroek News won the media award for outstanding coverage of business and GCCI news.
