Canefield Power Plant generation boosted with new 5.5MW engine

Mar 09, 2019 News

Commissioned at a cost of US$8.5 million, an extension on the existing Canefield Power Plant will boost power generation by 5.5 Megawatts (MW), says Projects Manager at the Guyana Power and Light, Linden Edwards, at the commissioning ceremony yesterday.
The power station, he explained, is a part of the Demerara/Berbice inter-connected system, which is a series of power stations linked by 69,000 volts, transmission lines from Sophia – Skeldon.
Edwards detailed that in the consumption of the project, Canefield had a capacity of 4.5 Megawatts, “this was provided by a 40 plus year old Mirrlees Blackstone engine, the unit had accumulated running 130,000 hours and it’s reliable operation could not be guaranteed”.
He noted that the supply of electricity to Berbicians was heavily dependent on the power transferred from other stations on the Demerara – Berbice inter-connected system and “as a consequence on the integrity of the 69 KV transmission lines”. He stated that the situation could be alleviated with the addition of the spanking new 5.5 MW engine.
The Projects Manager stated that they were tasked with preparing the necessary documents, which was followed by the bidding process. He mentioned that international bidders were invited to tender for an engineering procurement and construction contract for the construction of the additional 5.5 MW heavy fuel oil power generation system at Canefield, East Canje, Berbice in June 2016. There were six international bidders in the project, however it was awarded in June 2017 to ESD Engineering and Service SRL, a company based in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic.
He explained that works on the ground for the project commenced with pile driving in mid-December 2017, followed by foundation work to accommodate the 5.5 MW engine, switch gear and other components. It was executed by local contractor, Home Designs and Associates, under the stewardship of Dwayne Ferdinand, it was also supervised by ESD Construction Manager Anthony Blanco.
Edwards also pointed out that factory testing of the engine was done in South Korea in March 2018, and was done in the presence of GPL personnel.
Edwards however noted that there were some challenges encountered during the process of getting the engine up and running, he added, “seasonal weather, clearing containers at the port of entry and storage of containers in Canefield were some of the difficulties faced” but the focus on the completion date never wavered.

The Canefield Power Plant

Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson while delivering the feature address, noted that the decision to install the plant was made in 2015. He added that an examination of the current stock (generating sets in the country) was evaluated and assessed and the Canefield site was identified as one of the areas that needed strengthening.
Patterson disclosed that the Canefield Plant is the first of three plants that will be commissioned in 2019, “in a week’s time we will be commissioning a plant in Anna Regina, Essequibo and then shortly after that we will be commissioning a plant in Bartica, in keeping with our commitment”. He noted that the generating plants are only a part of the Guyana Power and Light’s overall program to upgrade the electricity sector.
The Minister also mentioned that there is an ongoing power utility program along with upgrades to sub-stations around the country “which entails tackling one of our weak spots in the electricity sector”. According to him, the current transmission and distribution network is in need of upgrading, so that all the new plants put into place will still continue to function effectively.

The Minister highlighted that they are looking at replacing all aging engines as well as installing additional generating capacity that will be powered by natural gas. He said, “it is anticipated that this will be done in the next eighteen months to two years, and that will increase our installed capacity by 180 MW and of course with natural gas there will be a reduction to the cost to our consumers”.
Patterson in the same breath made mention of a few renewable energy projects slated to take shape in the future, that includes 30 MW of solar with storage into the Demerara inter-connected grid along with 10 MW of wind into the grid, “we would like to disperse this into different areas around the country, so we are looking at three different locations at 10 MW each”.
He stated that 4 MW of solar will be placed at Kuru Kururu.
The Minister also announced that they are currently exploring the idea of installing solar street lights with wifi capabilities, “this is a pilot project that we are trying to unveil, so we are working with the Ministry of Public Telecommunications so that we can not only brighten up your life but we can also lend connectivity, particularly to remote areas”.
The Canefield plant commissioned yesterday was put into operation on September 24th, 2018. Minister Annette Ferguson, Members of Parliament Jennifer Wade, Barbara Pilgrim along with the CEO of GPL Mr. Albert Gordon and other GPL executives were also present at the commissioning and gave brief remarks. There was a simple ribbon cutting and unveiling of a plaque exercise after the program concluded.