The Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) on Wednesday signed a deal for the establishment of solar farms at Lethem and Bartica which will cost a total of $1.1b.
A release from the GEA yesterday said that it has entered a pact with Farfan & Mendes Limited and SOVENTIX Caribbean S.R.L for the engineering, procurement, construction and installation and commissioning of solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants including Battery Energy Storage Systems for the hinterland at Bartica and Lethem in two lots.
Of the eight companies – both local and international – which participated in the procurement process that commenced with the opening of bids on January 7, 2020, the release said that Farfan & Mendes Limited and SOVENTIX Caribbean S.R.L emerged as the winning bidder.
The release said that Farfan & Mendes Limited and SOVENTIX Caribbean S.R.L complied with all the requirements for the execution of the project, inclusive of being substantially responsive to the terms and conditions of the bidding documents and also representing the lowest evaluated cost.
The total contract amount for the two solar PV farms at Lethem and Bartica is $1.098 billion dollars. The duration for the completion of the farms is estimated to be 330 days.
This project comes under the renewable energy solutions for the hinterland, which is one of the major components under the Energy Matrix Diversification and Strengthening of the Department of Energy programme funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
By the end of 2023, the release said that this programme will finance the investment in solar technology and provide a reliable electricity source to the expanding needs of power supply in the three hinterland townships, currently relying on fossil fuel. This will entail the installation of three solar Photovoltaic farms in Bartica (1.5MW), Lethem (1.0MW), and Mahdia (0.65MW) and implementation of storage capacity.
The signing was held at the Office of the Prime Minister in the presence of Derrick Cummings – Permanent Secretary, Office of the Prime Minister; Dr. Mahender Sharma – Chief Executive Officer of the GEA; Martin Carto – Alternative Energy Manager of Farfan & Mendes and SOVENTIX, and Mfon Akpan – Project Coordinator of Guyana Energy Agency.
