President Ali says Guyana needs a second gas plant

Feb 07, 2024 News

President Mohamed Irfaan Ali

Kaieteur News – President Irfaan Ali on Monday told members of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) that Guyana requires a second gas plant to be able to meet the country’s future energy demands.

The President was at the time speaking at the PSC’s annual corporate dinner. He said that the 300 megawatts Wales gas plant that is yet to come on stream is inadequate to meet Guyana’s future energy demands.

The Wales power plant, located on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD), is part of a $US2B and counting gas-to-energy project that the government said will end power outages and slash electricity bills by half.

“Already, based on our assessment, the power plant that we are engaged in now from the natural gas, will be inadequate for the type of development that will come our way,” President Ali said.

He continued: “So we have to already think about a second power plant…” the Head of State said noting that a second gas plant will cater to the country’s demands.

The President said he wants a similar agreement to the one Guyana has for the Wales gas plant.

“So we have to already think about the second power plant and whether there is actually opportunity, not only for foreign investment to come with a second power plant on the same terms and condition that the power purchase agreement would have with GPL on the first power offtake and that again might open up oportunities for local investors because we want again as much local capital that we can raise to place in that,” President Ali said.
The multi-billion-dollar gas-to-energy project has been criticised for being too costly for 300 megawatts of power, and runs the risk of not being profitable to the country.

In response to the critics, the government, through Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, on numerous occasions argued that the project is needed to curb the country’s electricity woes. He posited that it will significantly reduce the cost of energy consumed by the manufacturing sector, possibly slashing bills by half.

Further, the government believes that it can earn revenue from the liquid gas by producing cooking gas and lighter fluids and selling it locally and further afield.

The Vice President has asserted that the project will be able to pay for itself and would not place a financial burden on taxpayers.

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energy, Gas-to-Energy project, President Ali, Wales Gas Plant

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