Advancing government’s plan to equip the Rupununi and outlying areas with reliable energy access by 2020, a $565 million one-megawatt solar farm is to soon be constructed in Lethem.
The Lethem Solar Farm is expected to supplement the town’s diesel-based electricity supply, and is anticipated to lead to Lethem being able to fully operate on renewable energy within the next two and a half years, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson related.
According to the Department of Public Information (DPI), the farm’s construction will begin upon approval of the plan from an International Tender, and is expected to be completed within a year.
DPI reported that the establishment of the farm is part of a national project to supply the Rupununi and outlying areas such as Mabaruma, Bartica and Mahdia, with enough access to a reliable energy source by 2020. It noted that government commissioned a 0.4MW solar farm in Mabaruma in 2018, while a solar photovoltaic (PV) system is expected to be constructed in Mahdia in June of this year.
Added to that, Patterson related that a recently approved loan from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), is expected to fund the feasibility study for the establishment of a $1.4 billion hydropower system, powered by the Moco Moco and Kumu Falls located in the Rupununi.
