The eight solar photovoltaic farms to be constructed as part of the US$83.3 million solar project financed by payments from Norway will save an estimated US$9.11 million annually, according to the project’s Envi-ronmental and Social Manage-ment Framework (ESMF).
On Tuesday, the government announced that it had sealed a deal with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for 33 megawatts (MW) of solar power financed by US$83.3 million in funds from Norway derived from the ground-breaking forest protection accord signed between Georgetown and Oslo in 2009.
The Finance Ministry in a press release said that investments will be made in solar photovoltaic plants as follows:
a) 10 MWp of generation capacity connected to the Deme-rara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS) in the Berbice Area;
b) 8 MWp in the Essequibo Coast Isolated System, including a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) with a minimum capacity of 12 MWh; and
c) 15 MWp connected to the Linden Isolated System, inclusive of a BESS with a minimum capacity of 22 MWh.
According to the project’s ESMF, the Linden Project will consist of three 5MWp farms specifically at Block 37 (in the vicinity of Bamia on the Linden Soesdyke Highway), Retrieve on the eastern side of the Demerara River, and Dacoura on the western side of the Demerara River.
This project will initially satisfy approximately 38% of the demand with an average annual generation of 24.03GWh resulting in approximately US$5.47M in savings from government subsidies, according to the ESMF. It was also stated that since the Community’s load is the major portion of the load in the system, the possibility of Bosai buying power from the Linden Electri-city Company Incorporated during solar hours is not unlikely.
The Essequibo Coast project is projected to save US$2.11 million from displaced fossil fuel generation and will consist of two farms; specifically 4.4MWp at Ondereeming and 3.6MWp at Lima Sands. The ESMF said that these farms will be supported by an 8MW, 1hr (minimum) BESS for stability support on the grid. The project will initially satisfy approximately 28% of the demand with an average annual generation of 12.21GWh.
In Berbice, three farms will be built – a 4MWp at Trafalgar on the West Coast of Berbice; 2MWp at Prospect on the East Coast of Berbice; and 4MWp at Hampshire in Corentyne, Berbice.
“Ultimately, the [Berbice] farms will be a part of the DBIS and will only satisfy a very small portion of the demand of the DBIS. However, the distributed nature of the project will serve to support the distribution network and reduce losses by supplying power closer to the load. The farms will generate approximately 16.78GWh annually. This will result in approximately US$1.53M in savings from displaced fossil fuel generation,” the ESMF said.
Each facility will be connected to the 13.8 kV primary distribution network in the respective areas.
The eight utility scale photovoltaic solar projects totalling 33 MW will bring affordable and clean energy to targeted communities in Guyana. Thirty-three MWs of solar power represents the largest pivot yet by Guyana in the direction of clean, renewable energy.
The US$83.3 million had been originally earmarked for the PPP/C’s controversial Amaila Falls Hydropower Project but the former APNU+AFC administration later struck an accord with Norway for the money to be assigned to solar power.
The release from the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday said that the programme will provide 27,000 households with affordable, clean energy and is expected to benefit over 70, 000 households.
In her brief remarks prior to signing, the IDB’s Resident Representative (ag) Lorena Solorzano-Salazar said, “This operation is framed within the partnership that Guyana had with Norway and will especially take the country to 19 percent renewables of the grid within about three years so this is an important milestone. This is in line with a kind of transformative change that is fully aligned with the IDB Vision 2025 and positive impacts of renewables ….and augurs well for Guyana.”
The release also said that the objective of the programme is to support the diversification of Guyana’s energy matrix towards the use of cleaner and renewable energy sources in the electricity generation matrix. The programme seeks especially to: (i) avoid CO 2 emissions with the development of solar PV generation plants; (ii) lower the cost of electricity generation while supporting the country’s transition towards renewable energy-based generation; and (iii) improve the operation and reliability of the isolated systems of Essequibo and Linden.
