$362.4M contract signed for 686kWp solar farm in Mahdia

Oct 13, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana on Wednesday signed an agreement with a private local firm to supply 686 kilowatt peak (kWp) electricity equivalent to 0.686 Megawatt (MW) of solar power to benefit the residents of Mahdia, Region Eight.

The Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips who is responsible for power generation made the announcement yesterday. This newspaper understands that the contract has been awarded to Standby Power Engineering Company (SPECOM) to the tune of $362,411,200. The new 686kWp farm will be constructed on 1.7 acres of land and once completed, will benefit over 2,884 residents.

Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips (center) smiles as Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Dr. Mahender Sharma (right), General Manager of (SPECOM) Mr Aundrea Cambridge (left), and Permanent Secretary of the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr Derrick Cummings (extreme left) show off the solar project contract

Notably, the solar project is being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank through the Energy Matrix Diversification and Strengthening of the Department of Energy (EMISDE) program. The Prime Minister in a statement explained that this venture also aligns “with the LCDS 2030 agenda, which saw the installation of solar farms at Lethem and Bartica, 28 solar mini-grids, and 29 off-grid locations totalling 3.415MW of installed capacity coming on stream.”

Singing the contract were Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Dr. Mahender Sharma, General Manager of (SPECOM) Mr Aundrea Cambridge, and Permanent Secretary of the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr Derrick Cummings.

According to the Prime Minister, “This is an important project for us because we talk about bridging the digital divide. As a government, we are committed to also bridging the energy divide. We are committed to bringing development to the Hinterland of Guyana.”

He also highlighted that it is also notable that the implementation of the project will be done by a local contractor. “Another important aspect of the project is that the contractor is a local contractor. So this is good for Guyana. The skill to be utilised on this project by a Guyanese firm augurs well for us in terms of development in capacity.”

He also used the opportunity to deliver a charge to the contractor stating that the project must be delivered in a timely manner.

The Mahdia solar PV project was awarded to Standby Power Engineering Company (SPECOM) following an open tender process and funded by a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), with Guyana Energy Agency being responsible for project implantation.

“The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2023 as the Government remains committed to realising the objectives and targets of the Low Carbon Development Strategy, particularly investing in clean energy to stimulate future growth and providing affordable, stable, and reliable energy to benefit both households and businesses,” the Prime Minister’s statement noted.

In addition to offsetting 30-65 percent or more of the annual electricity supply to the Mahdia mini-grid, the Solar Farm would be able to supply electricity to the community for more than two hours per day without the use of diesel generators.