PPP/C focused on ‘diversified energy mix’...

← lition Administration which had controlled the National Assembly by a one-seat Opposition majority.

The Amaila Falls Hydropower Project was the flagship of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). Amaila was expected to deliver a steady source of clean, renewable energy that would have been affordable and reliable, and was envisioned to meet approximately 90 per cent of Guyana’s domestic energy needs while removing dependency on fossil fuels.

Additionally, the best option to move Guyana to renewable sources of energy was adjudged in 2016 to be the Amaila Falls hydropower project, according to a study commissioned by the Government of Norway.

It was the David Granger led administration that agreed to this objective and facts-based assessment of AFHP. The report, compiled by Norconsult, on behalf of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), identified AFHP as critical for Guyana’s energy transition.

“The only realistic path for Guyana towards an emission free electricity sector is by developing its hydropower potential. The fastest way forward is to maintain AFHP as the first major step for substituting its current oilfired generation,” Norconsult stated in its report, Review of the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project in Guyana.

This guidance, though unequivocal, was not heeded by the previous administration. Up to now, most of Guyana’s electricity generation is from the severely polluting heavy fuel oil (HFO).

AFHP, projected to deliver 165 MW of new power to the grid by 2027, will supply a significant share of power needed for Guyana’s economic expansion in the decade up to 2030, building on emissions reduction gains from the 250 MW gas-to-energy project, expected by

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2024.

Exporting Hydropower

The Vice President revealed that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government is exploring the opportunities for exporting green hydropower. He pointed out that this is all part of creating a green economy that will allow Guyana to increase its energy supply, earn money and fulfil its commitments to reduce its carbon emissions by 70 per cent in 2030 through a progressively cleaner energy mix.

He said, “The hydro, the gas-to-energy project and the solar project we’re pursuing, will cut emissions by 70 per cent, yet triple installed capacity. That is very important for us. Secondly, even if we don’t use the hydro to supply industries or consumer needs, we may be able to use it to do green hydrogen, which would potentially become another export for Guyana, that all the power from hydro will go to doing green hydrogen. We’re exploring that as a possibility.”

Diversified Energy Mix

Further, the hinterland, according to him, will not be left out.

He said, “We can’t leave the hinterland of Guyana and the people who live there, shut off from accessing power. So right now, we’ve ordered over 30,000 solar units that are completed and will go to each of these 30,000 households in the hinterland. They’re not connected to the grid. These are Indigenous and riverine households… we’re now building a series of mini-grids in the larger Indigenous communities. We’re building larger hydro and mini-hydro in some of them. And these are projects that are already either awarded or to be awarded.”

The Vice President stressed that the PPP/C government is focused on diversifying its energy mix.