Govt. to be commended for balancing environmental care with power supply

Sep 29, 2025 Letters

Dear Editor,

I started thinking about the many positives of the solar grid in Batavia that was commissioned by PM Phillips. This Batavia Village Solar Grid in Region Seven is really the realisation of a landmark, G$300 million initiative, that will deliver 24-hour renewable electricity to the Cuyuni-Mazaruni community for the first time.

For sure, the residents have to be in very high spirits with this piece of governmental infrastructure. Upon learning about this developmental input, my mind raced to some of the many benefits that inhere with Residential Solars: Solar panels are increasingly becoming affordable; People can save money by going solar; People can keep the lights on when the grid goes down; Solar will often increase the value of people’s home; and Solar systems work in a variety of climates. Hence, the incentives are really overwhelming to move in this direction.

The project was launched in 2021 and executed by CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation) Petroleum Guyana Limited, in partnership with the Government of Guyana, and it is in keeping with the government’s agenda to expand ‘clean energy access’ in hinterland and Indigenous communities.

What is especially commendable is that Guyana is right up there in this area of ‘reaching remote communities’ with this kind of technological intervention. As a matter of fact, globally, over the past decade, local Indigenous leadership and effective government policies have been positive catalysts for energy security, job creation, and energy efficiency for far-flung community residents. I think we are all aware that clean energy has addressed fundamental challenges in remote community energy systems, including high costs, unstable and inefficient electricity and heating, and pollution.

I therefore join the celebrants and residents as their joy was captured in the PM’s words that “Today, we celebrate both the completion of an energy project and the dawn of a new chapter in the lives of this community. It is a milestone marked by light, opportunity, and sustainable progress,” as the installations will now power more than 125 households, thereby ensuring that every family in Batavia will now have reliable electricity.

On the bigger front, and as the PM intoned, schools and health facilities will also benefit from the round-the-clock power, as “Reliable 24-hour electricity will transform daily life. Teachers and students can utilise modern tools, health services are now fully powered, and families will have the dignity and security of stable power.”

Now for a word on the country’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030, where this is an example of Guyana’s LCDS’ framework, intended to map the path of a new growth trajectory in a non-polluting way. Something to be proud of is the fact that Guyana’s constant domestic energy transition continues to be one of the most ambitious in the world.

At this rate and with more solar grids, it is estimated that by 2030, the country’s energy use is projected to increase five-fold, (NB) yet greenhouse gas emissions will stay flat or be reduced, while electricity costs for citizens and businesses will decrease. Since 2020, solar energy installation has increased by 173% nationwide, and the momentum is a good omen for Guyana. Afterall, the “Batavia’s electrification is not just about power—it is about progress. With clean energy as the foundation, communities will be better equipped to shape their own future.”

Yours truly,

Hargesh B. Singh

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Batavia Village, environmental care, G$300 million initiative, power supply, renewable electricity, solar grid, that will deliver 24-hour

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