Latest update December 12th, 2024 1:00 AM
Investing in solar electricity is a way forward for Guyanese
DEAR EDITOR,
The cost of solar electricity has dropped over the years to range in between US$1 to US$2 per Watt (US$1m to US$2m per mWatt).
The land area required to build a 10 mWatt solar electricity plant is about 80,000 km (square) – about 20 acres.
A 10 mWatt solar plant can supply about 10,000 homes per year.
Roughly speaking it could cost US$10m to US$20m to build a 10MW solar plant on 20 acres of land to supply 10,000 homes with electricity.
That means over a 25-year period, the cost is about US$40 to US$80 per year per household (or, $8,000 to $16,000 per year household) – this does not include transmission and distribution costs as well as maintenance costs. If we accept that there is commercial loss of some 30% then the cost to Guyanese would be in the region of $11,500 to $23,000 per year per household. Assuming that there is a necessary 12.5% profit margin then the cost shoots up to $13,150 to $26,300 per year per household.
What are Guyanese paying for residential electricity these days? Above $50,000 per year, per household?
Investing in solar electricity is a way forward for Guyanese as it is cost effective and clean energy.
Yours faithfully
Sean Ori
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