Govt, Jagdeo clash on 100% renewable energy by 2025 commitment

Government is certain Guyana will achieve its commitment to get 100 per cent renewable power by 2025, however the parliamentary Opposition believes that the Administration is chasing a pipe dream.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo could not comprehend why President David Granger made such an impracticable pledge when he signed onto the Paris Climate Change Agreement on April 22.

Jagdeo, a former President and renowned Champion of the Earth awardee, explained that converting to 100 per cent renewables involves much more than just electricity and noted that Government has not even outlined a comprehensive plan towards attaining full renewable energy within the next decade.
“We’re in 2016 and 2017 soon. How do we get to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025 when we’re not going to build the (Amaila Falls) hydro which would have given us 94-95 per cent of our renewable electricity demand? They’re going to do some small wind farm and that would not meet our requirements. But there is nothing else on the horizon, no other plan,” he asserted as he expressed bafflement over why the current Government would sign the country up for failure.
He noted too that on a broader perspective, transforming to 100 per cent renewable would entail switching to vehicles that utilise renewable energy instead of fossil fuel, which would mean the service stations countrywide would need to be adjusted.
Jagdeo also pointed out that Guyana needs to develop the appropriate infrastructure that would support a fully charged renewable energy nation.
All of this, he assessed, cannot be completed by 2025.
The Opposition Leader also criticised the Government for pushing the agenda of an undefined green economy.
“We’ve seen the President speak about the green economy but, we’re yet to get a single document which tells us what the green economy is. He criticised the LCDS (Low Carbon Development Strategy) of being too narrow but at least we have a few hundred pages of a definition of our approach to a green economy,” he opined.
President Granger had told media operatives that the LCDS was too narrow and that his Administration would be seeking to broaden the scope of the green economy initiative.
Moreover, Jagdeo was critical of the Government for squandering the LCDS monies. He lamented that the 6000 solar panels which were purchased with LCDS funds for distribution to the hinterland areas are now being given away to Government Ministers.
Minister of State Joseph Harmon said the solar panels were installed at State House and the President’s official residence in order to make that complex fully green.
On the other hand, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman believes Guyana is well on the journey to achieving its commitment by 2025.
When asked by Guyana Times, Trotman said steps are already being taken to realise this goal.
“Guyana’s pathway is conditional of us getting support… And we expect that the international community and friends of Guyana will be supportive,” he opined.
The Minister disclosed that last week, Government and other officials held a meeting to discuss the Arco Notre Project as a means of achieving the 100 per cent renewable power pledge.
The project seeks to determine the feasibility, alternatives, risks and mitigation measures of creating an energy and data transmission interconnection arc (the Northern Arc), with the purpose of interconnecting Guyana, French Guiana, Brazil and Suriname.
He noted too that Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson’s participation in the upcoming 46th Meeting of the Latin American Energy Organisation (OLADE) will also place Guyana well on the path to becoming a 100 per cent powered renewable State.
The Natural Resources Minister assured, “We believe that it is achievable in the decade… we are well placed on the road to success.”