T&T pursuing solar power generation while Guyana chases Hydro

Jun 03, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, Stuart Young said on Wednesday that solar projects and even waste-to-power are some of the new initiatives the twin island plans to incorporate into its energy mix, as the State moves towards cleaner sources of energy.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Energy and Energy Industries, Stuart Young

“Trinidad and Tobago has to find the right balance. We will do our part towards reduction of carbon, methane and harmful emission reduction. But we will do so whilst ensuring the sustainability of our energy sector. I want to put on the record that being a hydrocarbon province should not be seen as a negative. We have been blessed with oil and gas resources and our challenge is how to ensure its sustainability whilst doing our part towards cleaner energy,” Young explained during the country’s Energy Conference which concluded on Thursday.
Further, to meet climate change objectives, the Minister said that a 112.2MW solar project should undergo construction soon. The project titled ‘Lara’ will not however be the end point for Trinidad and Tobago, as while that development is being carried out, the country intends to invite more Request for Proposals of such energy ventures. “More solar allows us to do our part towards global Green House Gas reduction and allows us to monetise our valuable natural gas resources,” the Minister explained while adding that T&T will also be exploring the viability of future power generation by combining waste to energy technology and other renewables which would deliver environmental benefits.
In his bid to encourage renewables, he told oil and gas companies represented at the forum that the World Economic Forum has suggested that renewables need to increase from 14 percent of primary energy in 2018 to 75 percent of primary energy by 2050. In this regard, he explained that according to estimates by reputable energy publications, the share of renewables in the primary energy mix will at the most account for 27 percent of the global primary energy mix in 2050. As he continued to update the stakeholders on the current energy climate, Young cited a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) which estimates oil demand will start to decline in the 2030s for the first time, based on current policy settings. This means that the use of heavy fuel oil for electricity generation could be phased out.
Importantly, he said natural gas plays an important role in the energy value chain in Trinidad and Tobago. The State depends on the production of gas for the fueling of its energy sector and to power its other downstream industries. According to Young, “Natural gas is the primary fuel in electricity generation, 99.9 percent of our electricity is generated from natural gas. Gas will remain the predominant source of electricity generation even as we include renewables in our energy mix. Renewables have a part to play”.
He was keen to point out however that the access to finance for renewable projects remains limited, natural gas will remain the transition fuel to cleaner sources but “this does not mean that Trinidad and Tobago is not pursuing the use of renewables; we are doing so,” he urged.

Meanwhile, in Guyana, the government is pursuing a hydropower project that could potentially leave the country in further debts. It was however recently announced that the contractor for the Amaila Hydropower Project is experiencing difficulties with raising financing for the project and now wants the government to take on this aspect. In light of this development, government may very well have to go back to tender. On the other hand, Guyana is also pursuing a Gas to Energy Project to supply electricity to the national grid and possibly produce fertilizer for the agriculture sector. Environmentalists have however been clamoring the government to reinject the gas and pursue solar instead as this will deliver not only a stable source of energy, but also one that will have no impacts on the environment. Importantly, it has already been announced that Guyana currently receives enough sunshine every two hours to power the country’s present electricity demand for an entire year.

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