$137M in annual savings as new Lethem Solar Farm activated

Clean energy is now a reality for residents of Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), with the commissioning of a $472 million one-megawatt solar farm.

Apart from reliable electricity, the farm is expected to generate $137 million per year in savings when comparing current fuel costs. That is approximately 3000 barrels of fuel. It also feeds into Government’s agenda of carving a sustainable, renewable energy pathway for Guyana.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Energy Agency, Dr Mahender Sharma highlighted that this is the first mega-scale solar farm as the country embraces a low-carbon future. The farm was already operational in just under two weeks but authorities have seen tangible savings.
“We’ve been testing and making sure it is doing what it is supposed to do and from the software that is there, we’ve already saved 10,000 litres of diesel by simply turning this on. That’s about 63 barrels of fuel. We didn’t have to use them to give electricity,” Dr Sharma contended.
The payback period for this project, funded by the Inter-American Development Bank, is about three and a half years. The GEA Head has labelled this project as an “attractive investment”.
In Lethem, residents pay $80 per kilowatt of electricity, higher than the rate paid in Georgetown. Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar pointed out that this was due to transportation of fuel from the coastland. This intervention will alleviate such costs, especially in wake of rising cost of living facing the township.
“Here you have a township that has been beaten down because of COVID and lack of economic activity and then you have, apart from the myriad of cost of living issues and how to get by as a family and a business, your electricity bills to pay. It was hard. We are coming out of that. We are out of that,” Indar relayed.
At peak demand, Lethem would require about 1.1 megawatt of electricity. The town can run on renewable energy for about five hours per day, lowering operating costs. The saved monies can be used by Government to implement infrastructural projects in the township, the Minister added.
“That means the money that we used to subsidise (electricity) can go to infrastructural works and social good. The money that goes into something that burn and then destroys the atmosphere is no longer there.”
In Region Nine, another 2.2-megawatt project featuring hydropower will also kick in – 1.5 megawatt at Kuru and 0.7 megawatt at Moco Moco. This is pegged at $2.8 billion.
Over at Kato, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), another hydropower project is in the works, bringing 150 kilowatts of renewable energy to the grid and valued at $469 million. Due to inclement weather conditions, there have been some challenges in accessing the areas via roads.
“When we say to the world that we are pursuing renewable energy, the projects are live projects…It’s projects on the ground. Everywhere in the country you go, there are projects on the ground: Mahdia, Bartica, Wakenaam, Leguan. In 28 communities, we are putting mini-grid systems,” the Minister told stakeholders.