EPA will spearhead efforts to mitigate pollution from power ships – PM

– reports on potential pollution will be reviewed, once completed

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be spearheading the Government’s mitigation efforts in the event of any air and other forms of environmental pollution that may be caused by the two power ships currently supplying power to the national grid.
This was explained by Prime Minister, retired Brigadier Mark Phillips, who has responsibility for the energy sector.
The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) is currently utilising two power ships, one at Everton in Berbice and one along the Demerara River, to supply the grid with power. An important question, however, is potential air pollution, with the EPA recently indicating that it is monitoring the ship’s emissions.
When asked about safeguards during his end-of-year press conference on Monday, the Prime Minister, under whose purview energy falls, stated that this responsibility would rest with the EPA. However, Phillips noted that their team would review the EPA’s reports once compiled to assess the extent, if any, of the pollution.
“The EPA has said that they will be doing works in terms of evaluating what form of pollution and the extent of pollution in terms of the power ship. The EPA, as you know, is one of the agencies that work for the Government and that is their work. We will have the reports at the end of the EPA’s work.”
Last week, EPA head Kemraj Parsaram told this publication that the agency would work along with the ship owners in reviewing the air emissions. He had also indicated that no significant problems were detected thus far in the initial stages of analysis.
According to Parsram, the evaluation of the power ship’s emitted gasses is part of their authorisation process while emphasising that the necessary measures are being implemented to ensure that emission levels remain insignificant.
“We are assessing the emissions as part of the authorisation process, making sure the safeguards are in place. We recognise the urgency, importance, and national interest of this project and we are working with the ship owners and the Government to ensure that emission levels do not pose significant risks to nearby residents,” Parsram had stated.
However, if any challenges arise concerning emissions, the agency has committed to promptly notifying the public. “If any hazards are detected, we will address them immediately, but so far, we have not encountered any issues,” he assured.
In addition to air emissions, there are also concerns about gases being released into the water, which could pose other environmental risks.
The second power ship is the product of a Joint Venture between Turkish-based Karpowership Global DMCC and Qatar-based UCC Energy International and is being chartered to operate in Guyana for two years.
The second power ship has been injecting an additional 60 megawatts (MW) of electricity into the national grid. In the first phase, the power ship will dispatch 60 MW to the grid in approximately six weeks followed by an additional 15MW.
The contract requires GPL to pay the Joint Venture 8.52 US cents per Kilowatt-hour (kWh) as a monthly charter fee for the new power ship. It also requires a monthly operation and maintenance fee of 0.98 US cents per kWh, based on electricity generated.
Under the contract, GPL is also responsible for providing Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) for the operation of the ship’s generators.
The addition of the second power ship helped boost GPL’s generation capacity to over 245MW, ensuring reliable electricity during the holiday season and beyond. The first power ship had been deployed to Guyana in May of last year and is currently stationed at Everton in the Berbice River.