Government’s $264 million solar farm, which was designed to increase the supply of electricity to residents of Mabaruma, will not generate enough energy to provide 17 hours of daily electricity as is being claimed, according to Regional Chairman Brentnol Ashley.
Ashley, in a telephone interview, told Sunday Stabroek that while the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) is in support of “going green” and utilising renewable energy, he feels the Public Infrastructure Ministry should properly inform residents, who already have high hopes of benefitting from the increased supply of electricity, about the reality of the situation.
“As it relates to the solar farm, our concern is that it is being placed in the media’s domain that the solar farm, in its establishment, will provide 17 hours of electricity. However, when we were briefed outside of what the Mayor and Town Council would have heard about the 17 hours of electricity, we learnt that the solar system is not something that is going to be working independently, as though they are trapping the energy coming from the sun, but rather that it will be a hybrid system, meaning that it will be integrated into the existing gen set that we have,” the Chairman shared.