Developer steams ahead with smaller wind farm - Jagdeo signed 50-yr lease on Hope Beach

Developer steams ahead with smaller wind farm – Jagdeo signed 50-yr lease on Hope Beach

Dec 10, 2017 News

Plans are very much on stream to construct a 12-megawatt (Mw), US$32M wind farm at Hope Beach.
Over the weekend, local partner and representative of the project, businessman Lloyd Singh, of International Pharmaceutical Agency (IPA), assured that the project is very much alive, though its magnitude has been revised because of technical reasons.
“I can tell you that we had a high-level meeting recently with technical officials representing Government,” Singh disclosed.
Last week, the Opposition hinted that there may be secret negotiations with regards to the project which has been in the pipeline since 2007.
However, Singh insisted that the negotiations on the terms and conditions of the project are above board with several government officials present at a recent meeting.
The project’s Caribbean developer had exited and Singh and his partners, from China, stepped in back in 2014.
Explaining the recent developments, the businessman said that former President Bharrat Jagdeo during his administration had green-lighted the wind farm in 2007.
In fact, that same year, the then developer was granted a 50-year lease on Hope Beach, East Coast Demerara where the project is to be sited.
Feasibility studies have found that the proximity and conditions at Hope Beach are ideal for the project, Singh said.
Between 2001-2007, the then Government under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the developer.
“We stepped in 2014 and since then to now, we have been negotiating in developing a wind farm, as per international standards.”
While Singh had been teaming up with a Chinese partner, he has managed to attracted Danish and other European investors into the project.
However, there is a snag, the businessman said.
“The partners are insisting that they will not do a development without international regulations. There will be no compromising so we are going to go by the rules.”
He said that the project has not reached a stage where a power purchase agreement is being negotiated.
“No, no, we have not reached that stage yet.”
However, there have been major talks recently on the project.
According to Singh, present at the meeting were representatives of the Guyana Power and Light Inc., the Guyana Energy Agency, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Environmental Protection Agency as well as overseas consultants on the power sector.
There were also representatives from the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association. of behaviour I did not want of a driver, driving a brand new vehicle, but it happened and in this life all kinds of things will happen.”
He said he was very ‘angry’ over the matter and had even wanted a chat with the driver. This however was not done, since the Commissioner of Police requested him to be calm.
The Minister said it was rather upsetting to him, given that the policeman was in the crew who heard him specifically say to avoid reckless driving when he deployed the vehicles, the day before. He said, with the Standard Operational Procedures in effect, the policeman will be held accountable for the repairs to the vehicle, if he is found responsible for the accident.
Yesterday another accident was documented involving a police vehicle. However, it was noted that it was not one of the new vehicles.

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