Latest update February 10th, 2025 7:48 AM
Guyana can get 100% of electricity needs from renewable energy – IEA report
Kaieteur News – A recent International Energy Agency (IEA) report focusing on the role of the oil and gas industry in the Net-Zero Transition (NZE) emphasizes that a four-gigawatt renewable project could surpass the combined electricity output of emerging oil producers Guyana, Suriname, and Senegal.
The IEA Report
Published ahead of COP28, the report notes significant oil and gas discoveries in these nations and highlights Guyana’s advanced progress in this direction, with substantial offshore reserves. The report highlighted that the new producer economies examined have all seen large oil and gas discoveries in recent years and have announced major plans to develop them in the coming years.
The IEA report states that despite growing domestic consumption, the prospects for new projects hinge mainly on exports, and their economics are very sensitive to the pace of global energy transitions. In the Announced Pledges Scenario (APS) and NZE Scenario it was stated that new large-scale oil and gas projects would face major commercial risks and they may struggle to generate any real income.
To this end, it was stated that none of the countries examined have universal access to energy today, but it is achieved in full by 2030 in the NZE Scenario; this would require less than US$2 billion annual investments to 2030.
Additionally, the report proposes developing a hydrogen production industry to lay the foundation for various industrial advancements, contributing to emissions reduction. It was stated that the output of a 4 GW renewable project could exceed the total electricity generation in Guyana, Senegal, and Suriname. The IEA said that in order to get projects moving it will take a strongly collaborative mindset, both internationally and within countries.
Furthermore, the position of Guyanese leaders has been that even with ramped up oil production Guyana will remain on a carbon negative path. In fact, during a recent summit, President Irfaan Ali reaffirmed the nation’s unwavering commitment to maintaining a carbon-negative trajectory, even with the anticipated deployment of 10 Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessels (FPSOs) in its burgeoning oil sector.
Guyana’s Head of State’s bold promise underlines his administration’s position as a country endowed with abundant natural resources and a steadfast dedication to environmental preservation.
Moreover, it should be noted that the Government of Guyana recently published a draft National Gas Monetization Strategy that was created by Former Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) Energy Minister, Kevin Ramnarine.
Guyana is actively pursuing the use of natural gas in the Liza One and Liza Two fields for the Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project. ExxonMobil Guyana will fund a 12-inch pipeline for transporting the resource to Wales, where a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plant will treat and separate the gas for use in the power plant.
The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) had stated that the gas strategy is part of a pivotal roadmap and also serves as a vital tool for Guyana to make informed decisions regarding the utilisation of its gas resources.
However, from an analysis of the document, it is evident that the strategy leaves much to be desired in terms of concrete, achievable steps for gas monetization. In fact, during a recent press conference, Vice President (VP), Bharrat Jagdeo, who previously expressed enthusiasm about the strategy, conceded that there are several known issues with the 43-page strategy before labeling the document as a “discussion paper.”
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