Jagdeo brushes aside Robert Persaud’s claim of second hydro

Oct 28, 2024 News

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…says nothing beyond Amaila Falls has been determined

Kaieteur News – Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has clarified that while there has been mention of a second hydropower plant in Guyana, the government’s focus remains on the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP).

At his last press conference, Jagdeo addressed questions on government’s plans for a second hydropower project following statements by Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud, who suggested that the government is exploring additional hydro projects to expand Guyana’s renewable energy capacity.

In response to Persaud’s remarks, Jagdeo stated, “So I don’t know, I have not seen what he has said because right now we believe that the Amaila Falls now will come in at maybe 7 or 8 cents or even below that per kilowatt hour…”

Jagdeo reiterated the government’s commitment to Amaila Falls, which has faced delays since its introduction in 2011. He emphasised that Amaila remains a priority for the government as it seeks to provide affordable energy. “We believe that we could revisit the Amaila and it will be a feasible project and bring in power at a price that is very competitive, remember if it comes in at 7 or 8 cents per kilowatt hour even with us cutting electricity prices from 22 cents to 11 cents per kilowatt hour we can still sell that and make money,” he explained.

Regarding future hydropower initiatives, Jagdeo stated, “Nothing beyond Amaila in a fixed way has been determined as yet.” He added that other projects remain in the conceptual phase or as expressions of interest, citing that while Brazil had expressed interest in a larger project to supply northern Brazil that discussion happened a long time ago. “Any other project beyond that (Amaila) will just be a conceptual stage,” he said.

In a report by OilNow, Foreign Secretary Persaud outlined plans for diversifying Guyana’s energy matrix, potentially incorporating two hydropower plants to add approximately 370 megawatts of capacity by 2035. 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.

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

(Jagdeo brushes aside Robert Persaud’s claim of second hydro)

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• Control Center at Eccles, East bank Demerara, Guyana’s Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud, Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo

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