Dear Editor,
Now that the new coalition government has made a decision not to continue the very expensive hydro project of the previous regime, an alternative should be looked at to generate energy to meet growing demand. The world is moving away from fossil energy although oil prices have been falling. Guyana itself is trying to capitalize on the exploration and development of traditional fossil energy. But the country cannot count on the oil find off the coast for domestic use because of the territorial threat from our neighbour.
At any rate, oil development (and refining) is some five years off and energy is needed urgently. Guyana has a shortfall in energy, and as the country grows and further develops, the demand for energy use will increase. It is noted that the cost of traditional energy has been going down, and at the same time concern about global warming from the use of fossil energy has been going up. With declining prices, people may stick to the habit of using traditional fossil energy (and burning wood and coal) that drives global warming. Green energy (solar and wind) must be considered and encouraged. The country needs to be educated to switch to an alternative green (solar and wind) energy that has been shown to be more cost effective than using traditional energy. In several countries, people generated surplus energy from solar at their homes that they sold to the national grid earning money. The same should be encouraged in Guyana with a subsidy for the installation of the equipment so that people become less dependent on the national grid.
Proposals (that I am aware of) for development of solar energy were made to the PPP government. It had its favourite contractors out of China in spite of proposals presented by others that may have been far more cost effective and that would have created jobs (in light manufacturing, assembling of equipment, servicing) for nationals. Local and/or Caribbean companies were not encouraged to develop and produce solar energy that would have assisted with unemployment issues throughout the region. The contracts largely went to the foreigners; the equipment came largely from China. Barbados manufactured solar equipment was not favoured. A Trinidad company that produces solar energy more cheaply than the Chinese was not even considered. Other Caribbean servicing companies were not given preference even if more economical and less costly. China was the preferred choice for almost everything.
The new coalition government should encourage the development of solar energy giving preference to local or regional companies. And the country should be encouraged to move away from its dependence on traditional fossil energy. Subsidies should be given to homeowners to install solar equipment that would produce energy to power homes.
Many developing countries have been making the gradual shift from fossil energy towards green energy. A major portion of power generation in developed countries comes from green energy. The developed countries encourage and provide subsidies and tax breaks in the development of green energy. In the US and India, for examples, there are nationwide solar energy booms. The governments of New York State, New York City, Maharashtra, and New Delhi offer all kinds of incentives, including subsidies, to energy companies to develop green energy. Homeowners and businesses also get tax breaks. New York City is now at the centre of clean energy production; thousands of city homes are powered almost entirely by solar energy. Some schools and government buildings have gone solar.
As Guyana consumes more energy and as the country is funded by Europeans to protect the green forest and encouraged to go green, it only makes sense for the new government to encourage a green (solar) energy boom. The entire country should be encouraged to go green (solar and wind); subsidies should be given to home owners and businesses to go solar (that is better for homeowners than wind power that requires large amounts of land).
The new government should not behave like its predecessor and give preference to foreign favourites for reasons well known. Local and regional companies should be encouraged to set up operations in assembling as well as manufacturing equipment. The government should give a helping hand to local and regional companies for solar projects. Some progress (at extraordinarily high cost) has been made by the previous regime on solar and wind development. The coalition government must build on the progress to produce energy to add to the national grid to make the country less dependent on diesel generated power. This can make Guyana a shining example in the region encouraging the European countries to give us larger amounts of funds to protect our rainforest thereby reducing the effects of global warming.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
