Govt. plans to have second hydropower project – Robert Persaud reveals

Oct 19, 2024 News

Kaieteur News – Despite facing delays to bring the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP) into fruition, Guyana’s Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud has revealed that the Government of Guyana (GoG) intends to have a second hydropower plant. This is according to a report by OilNow.

Govt. plans to have second hydropower project

Guyana’s Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud (Institute of Americas photo)

It was stated that Persaud made the disclosure during an event on October 16, when he delivered the keynote address at the La Jolla Energy Conference in San Diego.

His address focused on Guyana balancing oil production and environmental sustainability. It is anticipated that the two hydro plants will add approximately 370 MW of capacity by 2035. Which will also form part of the government’s diverse energy matrix.

“Even as we embraced this new reality [with oil] in our country’s development trajectory, we have remained resolute in our support for the global transition from fossil fuels,” Persaud said – OilNow reported.

The Institute of Americas reported that LJC24 began with an important opening keynote address from Guyana’s Foreign Secretary. He shared Guyana’s vision for balancing massive hydrocarbon production and economic development with their commitment and resolve to maintain the country as a leader in biodiversity and carbon negative.

Last year, it was announced that the government would revive the Amaila Falls project after talks fell through with the contractor, a year earlier.

An artist’s impression of the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project

The government later issued a Revised Requests for Proposals (RFP) under a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model for the Amaila Falls project. Four local and international firms submitted proposals for the 165 megawatts (MW) Amaila Falls project that was scheduled to begin in 2027.

However, the project is currently stalled. Last month, Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo said, “…So, we’ll probably have to either engage the best of those [the four contractors that were prequalified], or ultimately probably go out back to another process…”

The Amaila Falls Hydro project was introduced by a previous People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration in 2011. However, the project had been shelved on many occasions.

The project faced obstacles in its realization when the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) Opposition parties, stopped the project back in 2014. In their 2020 election manifesto, the PPP-administration noted that the project will be revived. In 2021, negotiations hit a stalemate after Cabinet granted a no-objection for the Prime Minister’s Office to engage the China Railway Group Limited for construction. Discussions faltered as the company sought to alter the project’s model due to financing challenges for the BOOT model, requesting a shift to an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) model. The government was reluctant to switch to the EPC option, resulting in the talks with the Chinese contractor coming to an end.

In the revised RFP, the government said generation for the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc., will be largely derived in the future from two large projects including the Amaila and the Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project that will come on stream by 2027 and 2025, respectively. The power generated at the Amaila project will integrate and expand the national grid to include Linden. The Amaila-Linden-Georgetown transmission voltage will be 230 KV and connect to the national GPL Control Center at Eccles, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

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Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, energy, GTE, hydro, Robert Persaud

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