Latest update April 11th, 2025 9:20 AM

Guyana's largest selling daily and New York's most popular weekly

Latest News

Who is civilised and who is…?

May 03, 2022 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News – A hybrid hydrogen and solar power plant is being constructed in Barbados. The plant is expected to generate 58MW of power from the solar component and 120MW from the hydrogen facility, at a total cost of US$100M.
This means that a total of 178MW of power will be generated from an investment of US$100M. Now compare that with Guyana where a hydroelectricity facility is expected to cost more than US$800M to generate 165MW of power.
But this is not the only bizarre decision which is taking place in our energy sector. The government is constructing a natural gas energy plant, which will source associated natural gas from the offshore oilfields but is not sure as yet what will be the final price tag.
The government claims that the real price will only be known when bids come back. Bids for what? If Exxon is transporting the natural gas via a pipeline to shore, surely issues such as the cost of transporting the gas should have been determined prior to permission being granted to move ahead with the project. How do we know that this project will be viable, if we are not yet sure just what is the cost of the actual pipeline and the cost of transporting the gas?
A few weeks ago, there was a spate of blackouts. This occurred after the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) announced that problems had developed at its Garden of Eden facility, and that out of an abundance of caution, it had to shut the entire facility down.
Foreign engineers came to Guyana to identify the problem. So far the public has not yet been told the cause of the problems which led to the decision to deactivate the Garden of Eden plant.
In the absence of the report of the investigation, speculation is rife. It is even being suggested that the whole thing may have been a false alarm.
Since then, however, the government has indicated that it will be going out to tender to procure 50MW of power via a lease of generators. GPL hopes to have the power supplied by next March and the contract is expected to last for three years.
Basically, GPL is buying electricity since the scope of works include transport to and set up at site – fuel storage tanks (floating or land-based), fuel, water treatment, waste disposal, test, commission, operate and maintain the power generation facility, and decommissioning.
This is a short-term fix, which will involve the use of heavy and polluting fuels. It is at odds with Guyana’s environmental profile. Since the power is to be supplied by next March, there was sufficient time for GPL, if it had to invite expressions of interest for the supply of alternative sources of energy. Why has it not done so?
It is more than possible for a solar powered farm generating 50MW of power to be constructed within one year. The Barbados facility is expected to be completed in two years. But if it was a solar farm alone, this could have been done in one year.
A couple of years ago, the State of Victoria in Australia completed a 128MW solar farm in less than nine months. The project cost less than US$200M. In the meantime, Guyana is going to be spending close to US$2B to generate 400MW of power.
What is even more scandalous is that in November last year, the government announced that it had obtained US$75M financing for solar farms to generate 28.7MW. Barbados, as was stated above, is spending US$100M for a hybrid solar/hydrogen facility, which will generate a combined 178MW.
India has the lowest cost in the world when it comes to producing solar power. Guyana is selling India its oil. Yet, it has shied away from asking India to build solar farms in Guyana when it knows that India can do so far cheaper than anywhere else in the world.
Guyana has produced a Champion of the Earth awardee. After it signed a deal with Norway to keep deforestation low, it was considered at one time as a global leader on the environment. Having drafted a low carbon development strategy, the country was poised to become the renewable energy capital of the Caribbean.
That honour will now go to tiny Barbados. “So answer me fast: Who is civilised?”
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| April, 7th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Moo sponsored National Junior’s Squash C/ship eying exciting conclusion

Moo sponsored National Junior’s Squash C/ship eying exciting...

Apr 11, 2025

-Thrilling action unfolds on Day Three Kaieteur Sports- The courts at the National Racquet Centre (NRC) were once again buzzing with intensity on Wednesday as Day Three of Moo’s National Junior...
Read More
BK Group remains supportive of Bartica Easter Regatta

BK Group remains supportive of Bartica Easter...

Apr 11, 2025

GFF-Blue Water Shipping National U15 Secondary School Girl’s Football C/ship officially launched

GFF-Blue Water Shipping National U15 Secondary...

Apr 11, 2025

Elite League action returns to NTC this weekend

Elite League action returns to NTC this weekend

Apr 11, 2025

Two more young cricketers benefit from Project “Cricket Gear for young and promising cricketers in Guyana”

Two more young cricketers benefit from Project...

Apr 10, 2025

NSC receives sports uniforms from D8Door & Hardware Inc.

NSC receives sports uniforms from D8Door &...

Apr 10, 2025

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.

Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]