Govt. to distribute further 6000 home solar systems

Feb 26, 2015 News

Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon announced, yesterday, that 6000 solar home systems capable of generating 65 watts, will be distributed and installed in households in selected hinterland communities and in some coastal and riverine off grid areas. This will cost Government $166M.

Cabinet Secretary,
Dr. Roger Luncheon

At his press conference at Office of the President, yesterday, Dr. Luncheon said that this distribution and installation completes a project initiated by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) administration as far back as 2005 and which saw already, 13,000 solar panel systems installed exclusively in Amerindian communities.
He said that this additional 6000 to be distributed will be for those areas where the earlier initiative had not touched.
Looking at the projections, Head of the Presidential Secretariat said that these riverine, coastal areas are likely to remain off grid, for quite some time to come, notwithstanding Guyana Power and Light’s (GPL) increased generation and distribution initiatives over the recent years.
Prime Minister, Sam Hinds, he reminded, piloted the second and terminal phase of this programme and said that his expectations are that these 6000 home solar systems would be distributed and installed at the soonest.
Dr. Luncheon said that the hinterland electrification project, as was done with the earlier phase, would be relying heavily on trained residents of those communities to assist in the installation of the panel system in the selected households.
On the question of the criteria for selecting the households that would benefit from the 6000 panels and the intended total overall for distribution, Dr. Luncheon said that to the best of his knowledge, the initiative said that all households in Amerindian communities are to benefit from the programme.
Back in 2013, he said that government thought that the 13,000 solar panels would have been enough to meet the demands of that population. Long before it finished the distribution of that amount, Dr. Luncheon said that it became clear that there was a serious underestimation. Indeed, that population that he referred to as unserved, being as many as 3000 additional households, was therefore identified.
After engaging GPL to talk about the likelihood of supplying off grid coastal residents, the electricity company, he disclosed, made it known that there are of course limits.
“I don’t expect that they would end up Bara Bara up the creek, and I don’t believe that they would be going to Sand Hills up the Berbice River, so there are communities that are likely to continue to be off grid, even with the more optimistic expansion of the grid associated with their current initiatives and particularly, with the benefits of the to be executed Amaila Falls Hydro Power Project.
“So additional panels are intended for households along those riverine off grid areas,” he added.
The Cabinet Secretary was also asked about the wattage of the panels and if it is hoping to secure indigenous votes with such a move at this time.
Both the Alliance For Change and A Partnership for National Unity have been particularly critical of the government in recent times , saying that it was giving away “goodies” to the Amerindian communities as part of its political ploy to garner more votes.
However, Dr. Luncheon reminded that this distribution process started since 2005 and that government has indeed been addressing the power needs in the hinterland communities for over a decade.
Further, “On the question of whether 65 watts represent adequate power, you know they say in the land of the blind, the one eye man is king? Well in the land of darkness, 65 watt is indeed bright lights and power.”
Those hinterland communities to benefit from the solar panels include Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine.