With financing from a loan by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), government hopes to diversify the energy mix and simultaneously lower power costs at Mahdia, Region Eight, with a $362.4 million turn-key 686kwp solar farm.
The contract for the project which will be set up on 1.7 acres of land and is set to benefit over 2,884 residents in the area, was yesterday signed by the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) and the Standby Power Engineering Company (SPECOM) at the Office of the Prime Minister in Kingston, Georgetown.
“This is an important project for us because a lot of people talk about the digital divide. As a government, we’re committed to also bridging the energy divide,” remarked Prime Minister Mark Phillips who witnessed the signing.
Phillips explained that the project was just one of many under his government’s Low Carbon Development Strategy, as several other clean energy projects are to be rolled out across the country.
“The government remains committed to realising the objectives and targets of the Low Carbon Development Strategy; particularly investing in clean energy to stimulate future growth and providing affordable, stable and reliable energy to benefit both households and businesses. As part of the sustainable energy transition, the government is advancing an energy mix of hydropower, natural gas, solar and wind, leading to more than 500MW of newly installed capacity. This expansion in installed capacity is geared towards addressing the anticipated tripling in electricity demand,” a statement from his office pointed out.
“Ultimately, these plans will decouple economic growth from using fossil fuels for electricity by developing low-carbon energy resources to meet rapidly rising demand and keep greenhouse gas emissions low,” it added.
Government’s programmes from 2021 to now would see completed the installation of solar farms at Lethem and Bartica, 28 solar mini-grids, and 29 off-grid locations, totalling 3.415MW of installed capacity. The total amount avoids, according to government, the production of some 3,542 tons of carbon dioxide per year and will benefit about 52,940 persons.
Project details for the Mahdia project, the Office of the Prime Minister notes, would see the solar farm constructed on 1.7 acres of land which will be secured by 2-metre high perimeter fencing along with solar-powered peri-meter lighting. The facility would have two security huts equipped with the necessary lighting as well as lavatory compartments.
The design, supply and installation of the Turn-Key Solar PV system and its interconnection to the Mahdia grid would be done in compliance with the NEC & National Grid Code, in addition to the adherence to all quality assurances, environmental standards, and social regulations, according to government.
“The Solar Farm would be constructed into two (2) identical subsystems with each faction having a capacity of 343.2kWp of PV Power connected to 375kW of Grid-Power Inverters, and a Storage Capacity 750kWh Lithium Battery Bank connected to 400kW of Grid Forming Hybrid Inverters which will support Off-Grid operations and Cloud-Coverage. In addition to offsetting 30-65% or more of the annual electricity to the Mahdia mini-grid; the Solar Farm would have the capacity to supply electricity to the community in excess of 2-hours daily without the operation of Diesel Generators. At a total PV Capacity of 686.4kWp, Storage of 1500kWh and an average peak area load of 375kW, it is anticipated that about 25% fuel saving is likely in the first 5-7 years of operation,” the project plan explains.
“A comprehensive SCADA System would be implemented for reporting and providing remote monitoring. On completion of the construction of the Turn-key Solar Farm, technical training will be provide to MPL Inc. along with the appropriate factory warranties and service tools/spares parts,” it added.
Yesterday, SPECOM’s General Manager Andre Cambridge assured that not only will the project be completed by the end of next year, but it would be done in keeping with required standards.
He said that his company has hired an expert from Spain to assist in the project execution and he does not anticipate any hiccups.
GEA recently commissioned its first mega-scale solar farm at Lethem. The 1MW solar farm was commissioned on August 5, 2022 and has since reduced the consumption of diesel by some 72,711 litres (about 457 drums).
A 1.5MW solar farm at Bartica is expected to be commissioned during the last quarter of 2022.
