GWI losing US$20M annually

Feb 14, 2023 News

…turns to solar power to reduce energy costs

Kaieteur News – The Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) has reported that over the years, the entity has been losing annually, some US$20M with the essential item of the utility company’s overall costs being energy.

As such, the entity has turned to renewable sources of energy to scale back on its single largest Bill—electricity—with the construction of a new a 400 Kwp (Kilowatt peak) Solar Farm with a view to reducing its annual operation’s cost at a new Port Mourant Water Treatment Plant.

This much is made clear in the project summary provided to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which outlined a project cost at $1.7B.

According to the document seen by this publication, GWI’s financial performance is inadequate over the years with a net operating annual loss of over US$20M.

A water treatment plant on the East Bank Demerara

It was noted that presently yearly energy consumption across GWI facilities is 46.6 million Kilowatt per Hour (kWh), meaning electricity accounts for more than 60 percent of the utility company’s operating costs. In 2020, it was reported that GWI spent more than US$13.7M on electricity, and that its electricity consumption was over five percent of the total electricity generated by the country’s electric utility (GPL).

To this end, the entity indicated in its project summary that “to reduce energy costs from ever increasing electricity tariffs is of paramount importance for the improvement of the quality of service being provided to the population of Guyana, as well as for the achievement of GWI’s economic sustainability.”

It was noted too that the Guyana government emphasizes the increasing the role of renewable energy in the energy mix in the country to meet the future energy demands sustainably and that “renewable energy plays a critical role in reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels while at the same time reducing oil import bills and increasing energy security.”

To this end, GWI posited that water treatment plants are ideal end-users for integrating solar PV power plants under a grid-tie net metering scheme.

According to GWI, based on the existing GPL transformer rating 500 Kilovolt-amps (kVA), it is proposed to install a solar PV power plant of 400 kWp.

GWI said the proposed system can generate a maximum peak power of 320 kWp range with the estimated annual energy output from 400 kWp solar PV system is 0.59 million kWh.

As such, the solar PV power generation share, can substitute close to 45 percent of the present energy consumption level.

To this end, it was posited that the reduction in energy bill after integration of solar PV power plant could be above 40 percent and that the project can also lead to other social and economic benefits in terms of direct jobs creation and reduction in the monthly electricity expenditure for the water utility.

The existing water treatment facility receives water from two GWI owned wells located within the confines of the project’s compound. The facility receives electricity from GPL at 13.8 kV, which is stepped down to 415V using a 500 kVA power transformer.

The entity said, a Solar PV plant can be safely integrated with the PMWTP electrical system by using suitable smart controllers to allow hassle-free synchronisation of solar and grid power mode and solar and DG power mode.

It was noted too that the Port Mourant Water Treatment Plant has an estimated annual energy output from a 400 kWp solar PV system is 590MWh.

“This is equivalent to approximately 1,490 PV panels requiring approximately 9,200m2. Based on the required landmass, no feasible and reasonable alternative are currently available by GWI. In the event the proposed location cannot be used, approval will need to be sought from the Government of Guyana for land.”

Further, the total land area occupied by the existing water treatment plant and the proposed solar farm is 18,884.33 m2 with the proposed total capital investment for the existing and proposed projects is GYD 1,729,497,288.

This, GWI reiterated, entails the production and distribution of 10 million litres daily (MLD) equivalent to 300,000 m3 /month of groundwater.

The proposed project would allow for the utilization of 0.59 million KWh generated from renewable energy source, GWI said.

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