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Indian company gets $396M contract to set up solar plant at Leguan

Jan 06, 2024 News

Kaieteur News – The 0.60 MW solar PV farm slated for Leguan Island, Region Three will be built by a company out of India to the tune of $396 million.

This is according to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board’s (NPTAB) office. On NPTAB’s website it was disclosed that on December 28, 2023 the $396,124,521 project was awarded to Digiflic Controls India Private Limited.

This company was among three firms that submitted bids for the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) project early December.

The GEA had put out a tender seeking bids for the design, supply, installation and commissioning of a 0.60 MW Solar PV Plant and Transmission and Distribution Networks for Leguan.

Kaieteur News had reported that the Government of Guyana (GoG) received a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to diversify its energy matrix with sustainable and cleaner sources. Part of the US$21,160,000 loan will be used to set up a 0.60 MW solar PV farm at Leguan, Region Three.

Based on documents from the IDB, the new solar farm will cost an estimated US$1,785,452.

In 2018, a US$21,160,000 loan was approved by the Bank to support Guyana’s evolving energy sector. The Energy Matrix Diversification and Institutional Strengthening of the Department of Energy (EMISDE) is geared towards (i) investing in sustainable/cleaner energy solutions to diversify the energy matrix in the hinterland while contributing to climate change mitigation, (ii) investing in the reinforcement of transmission infrastructure to improve reliability and stability of the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System, and (iii) strengthening the Department of Energy to develop a regulatory framework, and improve institutional capacity and governance of the oil and gas sector.

The loan has three components with the first US$8.6 million allocated to renewable energy solutions for the hinterland. This component entails the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) plants in three hinterland townships of Bartica (Region 7), Mahdia (Region 8) and Lethem (Region 9) all of which currently rely exclusively on fossil fuel for electricity generation. The installation of a 1.5 megawatt (MW) solar plant within 3.03 hectares (7.5 acres) of land is planned in Bartica,1 MW within 2.02 hectares (5 acres) of land is planned in Lethem, and 0.65 MW within 4.65 hectares (11.48 acres) of land is planned in Mahdia. The electrification of the Dagg Point community in Bartica and the titled indigenous village of Campbelltown in Mahdia are also expected under this component.

Under the second part of the loan, Guyana will be looking to reinforce the transmission infrastructure at a cost of US$9.95 million. According to project documents, this component entails reinforcements at three substations of Kingston, Old Sophia and 5 km single circuit overhead 69 kV transmission line between the Kingston and Sophia substations and installing reactive power compensation at New Sophia. The Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) is the executing agency for this component.

The third and final component caters to the institutional strengthening and governance of the Department of Energy to the tune of US$4.5 million. It was explained that this component seeks to finance capacity building initiatives and best practice organizational structure, including high level training and coaching of Government staff and technical support for the development of the design of a new oil and gas legislative and regulatory framework. The GEA is also the executing agency for this Component.

It was reported that the Leguan solar project was not initially catered for under the loan but is being funded through savings accrued under the EMISDE programme.

This publication understands that the project sum includes the cost of a battery energy storage system as well as the construction of a new transmission line. The project has a life of 20 years.

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