Demerara Bank Ltd. goes completely solar

Nov 27, 2016 News

Demerara Bank Limited is the first commercial bank in Guyana to be powered

(From left) Seated at the head table, Demerara Bank CEO, Pravinchandra Dave, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr. Yesu Persaud, President David Granger and Director of Demerara Bank Ltd. Garfield Wiltshire

entirely by solar energy. The Bank’s branch at 214 Camp Street, North Cummingsburg, which was commissioned in November 2015, has installed 316 solar panels on its roof, making it completely independent of the national grid.
The institution commissioned the project yesterday.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Pravinchandra Dave, the idea behind making the bank solar-powered came about after President David Granger challenged the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr. Yesu Persaud, to expand in the area of Green Initiatives.
He said that before the project could be undertaken, a plan was developed to include the performance of a technical feasibility study along with the commercial viability of the project, which all generated positive results.
The CEO said that the architecture of the building was designed particularly to allow for the maximum exploitation of the natural sunlight. Additionally, the equipment with which the building is equipped saves energy.
For example, the bank installed energy efficient Samsung Air Conditioners and LED lights which will save 30 per cent on energy. In total there are 52 AC units and 200 lights in the building.

A section of the solar panels on the roof of the camp street building.

Further, the interior glass used is said to be of a kind that does not allow heat from the lights to penetrate, which, he said, also reduces the amount of energy consumed.
It had cost the bank, which is 25,000 square feet, $775M to construct while the total cost for the solar plant is $28M. Along with the 316 panels, there are 216 batteries and seven to nine inverters. The CEO said that the batteries when fully charged can supply the bank with power for three days.
In the event that the batteries cannot be recharged from solar energy, there is a generator which can charge the batteries fully in the space of two hours. He said that the bank only uses the generator twice per week for maintenance purposes.
After the physical study was done, it reported that the bank will need about 75 to 80 kilowatts. However, the CEO said that the entire solar project has the capability of providing 125 kilowatts since the entity is catering for future demands which may arise.
Chairman of the Board, Dr. Yesu Persaud, said that he was proud of the bank for making the big step since it is showing the world that an unknown company in a small third world nation can do so much.
He congratulated President David Granger for promoting the green economy, but stressed that the country should also aim to be prosperous. The Chairman said that as part of the services offered by the bank, it will now offer loans to persons for green projects at a special rate of eight per cent.
Additionally, he said that the bank will begin to make donations to a number of institutions such as elderly homes and orphanages in the form of LED lights so as to reduce the electricity bills.
Delivering the feature address was President Granger who promised that Guyana will move closer to full renewable energy by 2025.
Granger said that Guyana is in a better position than other Caribbean countries at tapping into solar power generation. He congratulated the bank for being a beacon of inspiration to other private sector entities to invest in solar energy to power their establishments.
The Head of State said that Guyana can generate solar power on an industrial scale particularly because of the amount of sunlight the country gets especially in the interior regions.
According to the President, Guyana has a number of resources which it has not yet exploited. He said that the green energy revolution is gaining momentum.

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