Hydropower projects in Region 9 have already saved over 17,000 drums of fuel – GEA Head 

Less than two years after coming into operation, the two mini-hydropower plants in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) have already saved the Guyana Government in excess of 17,000 drums of fossil fuel.
In December 2024, the 0.7 megawatt (MW) Moco Moco Hydropower Plant was commissioned with the capacity to generate approximately 4565 MW/h of electricity annually. Months later, in July 2025, the 1.5 MW Kumu Hydropower Station was operationalised to bring approximately 9700 MWh of clean energy annually.
These two mini-hydropower facilities were rehabilitated by Sri Lankan firm Vidullanka PLC under a US$12.85 million programme funded by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).
During a panel discussion on the “Changing Power Landscape” at the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo on Thursday, Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Dr Mahendar Sharma, said the two hydro plants are already reducing the country’s carbon footprint.
“In about 13 months of operation – the smaller [hydro plant] now operating for 13 months and the larger one now operating for six months – [they] have already saved more than 17,000 drums of diesel. With just those two [hydro plants], we’ve already avoided 17,000-plus drums of diesel,” Sharma stated.
According to the GEA Head, the cost of those drums of fuel amounts to some 27 per cent of the capital investment in the two mini-hydro projects.
Sharma went on to outline the importance of hydropower to Guyana’s energy mix, noting that it brings a greater level of predictability and availability when compared to other renewable sources.

“So, hydropower is going to be an important part of our energy matrix, and we have to scale these up,” he stated.
In fact, the GEA Head revealed that there are efforts currently underway to explore the setting up of more mini-hydro projects across the country, especially in hinterland areas where the demand is growing.
However, the hallmark of hydropower in Guyana is the 165-MW Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP). Just last year, the government issued a revised Request for Proposal (RFP), inviting companies from around the world to develop the Amaila Falls Hydro Project under a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model.
That invitation is still open and will run until April 9.
According to the RFP document, the project is expected to deliver a minimum installed capacity of 165 megawatts, including the hydro dam, powerhouse, substation, and a 23-square-kilometre storage reservoir, consistent with environmental studies and permits.
However, it was noted that the size of the hydro may be re-engineered to take into account changes in turbine technology, thus allowing more than 165 MW to be generated and transmitted – something which Sharma reiterated during Thursday’s panel.
“Amaila is going to be extremely significant… While this was tagged at 165 MW some years ago, we believe that the technology has advanced to such a stage that we can get more from it,” he stated.
“The considerations for machine efficiency, for advances and improvements in hydraulic losses and friction losses in design construction – the kind of technology that you have now available to you to make the assessments, conducting the geotechnical [studies and]…laying of pipe penstock, is incredible, and there is so much more that can be done.”
The ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has been keen on reviving the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, which has been on the cards since 2011 but was blocked by the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Coalition both in and out of office.

The 165-megawatt project was the flagship initiative of the Bharrat Jagdeo-crafted Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). However, the project failed to take off despite having a developer in United States-based Sithe Global, which was backed by investment major The Blackstone Inc.
In August 2013, Sithe Global announced that it was pulling out of the project, which it said was too large to continue without national consensus, and had cited the lack of consensus in Guyana’s Parliament. At the time, the then APNU and AFC oppositions, holding majority seats in the National Assembly, had both voted down key pieces of legislation which consequently halted the project.
Then during its term in office from 2015 to 2020, the APNU+AFC Coalition regime, again, shelved the project.
The revival of the 165-megawatt hydropower project was one of the promises made by the ruling PPP/C in its 2020 Elections Manifesto. In November 2021, the AFHP was awarded to China Railway First Group (CRFG), but negotiations fell through after the company wanted to change the BOOT model, which the government rejected.
A revised Request for Proposals (RFP) was then issued in 2023, and four companies – Rialma SA (Grupo Rialma) from Brazil, China International Water & Elec Corp, Lindsayca CH4 Guyana Inc, and a group made up of OEC, GE Vernova and Worley – had submitted tenders to be pre-qualified for the Amaila Falls Hydropower project. Those bids were under evaluation for several months before the government decided to retender the project.