$362.4M contract signed for solar farm at Mahdia

…another $625M solar project at Bartica to be finalised soon

A $362.4 million Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) funded contract has been signed for a solar farm at Mahdia, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) that will benefit close to 3000 residents and significantly reduce the State’s expenditure on heavy fuel oil.

The signing was done before Prime Minister, Retired Brigadier Mark Phillips, between Aundrea Cambridge, the General Manager of Standby Power Engineering Company (SPECOM), the company that will be building the project, and Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) Head, Dr Mahender Sharma. Dr Sharma explained what the project, which would benefit a total of 2884 persons, set out to do:
“So, in terms of how it benefits, it benefits those consumers. There are about 720 consumers connected to the Mahdia power company and those consumers will benefit from the energy placed on that mini grid from solar. It influences cost in a big way. Because the cost is currently subsidised.

“So, we’re not paying the true, actual cost of the electricity. So, this will serve to reduce the cost impact on that. The utility has its own separate function and will have to make a decision on how it pays the tariffs. That’s not our job. Our job is to help them to reduce their cost and utilise renewable energy.”
He said that so far, they have completed nine mini solar grids and they expected to complete a further 19 grids by year end. There is also the 1.5-megawatt (MW) Bartica solar farm, which will cost $625 million and will soon be completed.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister underscored the importance of the project, which is expected to be completed by next year. The project is also significant in moving Guyana closer to its renewable energy goals, as outlined in the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030.
“This is an important project because a lot of people talk about bridging the digital divide. As a Government we’re committed to also bridging the energy divide. You hear a lot about development on the coastland. But we’re also committed to bring development to the hinterland.
“And with this project, we’re providing electricity of a renewable form, to Mahdia. Now, in addition to bridging the digital divide, this falls neatly into our Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030,” Phillips said.
The IDB loan under which the 0.65MW Mahdia solar farm is being financed, falls under the Energy Matrix Diversification and Institutional Strengthening of the Department of Energy (EMISDE) programme.
SPECOM won the contract for the design and construction of the solar farm following an open tender process. According to General Manager Cambridge, the company has been in operation for 21 years and has done work on a number of other solar projects.
The GEA recently commissioned its first mega-scale solar farm at Lethem. The 1MW Solar farm was commissioned on August 5, 2022 and has since avoided the consumption of some 72,711 litres of diesel or about 457 drums. The 1.5MW solar farm at Bartica is expected to be commissioned during the last quarter of 2022.
In keeping with the country’s LCDS, Government’s programme between 2021 and 2022 would complete the installation of solar farms at Lethem and Bartica, 28 solar mini-grids, and 29 off-grid locations, totalling 3.415MW of installed capacity, avoiding 3542 tons of carbon dioxide per year, and benefiting some 52,940 persons.
As part of the sustainable energy transition, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has been advancing an energy mix of hydropower, natural gas, solar and wind, with the expectation that this will lead to more than 500MW of newly-installed capacity. This expansion in installed capacity is geared towards addressing the anticipated tripling in electricity demand.
Ultimately, these plans will diversify Guyana’s economy and decouple it from using fossil fuels for electricity by developing low-carbon energy resources to meet rapidly-rising demand and keep greenhouse gas emissions low. And these are plans that fall in line with LCDS 2030.
The LCDS 2030 vision has four components: 1) to manage water and other resources properly; 2) adapting to climate change; 3) producing clean energy, and 4) aligning with global climate and biodiversity goals.