Indian US$7.2M Line of Credit to enable solar electricity for 30,000 hinterland homes

The Guyana Government has signed a Line of Credit agreement with India, activating funds that will enable 30,000 hinterland homes to benefit from solar electricity solutions.

Signing the agreement were Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh and Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr KJ Srinivasa during the celebration of Indian Technical Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Day on Wednesday evening.
In his address, Minister Singh said it was a timely project, pegged at $1.44 billion, that would transform and uplift the lives of Guyanese in remote locations.
“We had the opportunity to coincide the observance of ITEC Day with the signing of the US$7.2 million facility, provided by the India EXIM Bank and under which, we will be able to deliver 30,000 solar home solutions to families across every single hinterland region in Guyana,” he detailed.
Extending gratitude on behalf of the Guyana Government, Dr Singh added, “I have no doubt that you share with us the great satisfaction of seeing this project delivered and the manner in which it will transform peoples’ lives.”
The Minister pointed out that this project is among several in the pipeline to achieve a grander developmental agenda of the Government. It will make a significant difference for families who will for the first time acquire electricity.
“Those 30,000 families, delivering electricity to their home for the first time will literally be the single biggest thing that probably happened to them in an entire generation…This project might not be the biggest project on the radar of the Ministry of External Affairs in India, but this project will have a truly transformative impact,” he opined.
Since assuming office, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration has been exploring various avenues of ensuring cheaper and reliable electricity for Guyanese, as well as expanding these services beyond the current scope.
In terms of renewable energy, Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP), which was shuttered by the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government, is now back on the table as tenders were opened in July. According to a Request For Proposal (RFP), the PPP/C Government is aiming to start construction on the project by the second half of 2022.
Amaila, first touted by the last PPP/C Administration, was expected to deliver a steady source of clean, renewable energy that would have been affordable and reliable, and was envisioned to meet approximately 90 per cent of Guyana’s domestic energy needs while removing dependency on fossil fuels.
Meanwhile, Government is looking to produce 200 megawatts of power from the gas-to-shore project by 2024. Exxon has said that around 30 to 35 million cubic feet of natural gas would be required for the gas-to-shore project. Recently-released data from Norwegian research company Rystad Energy had indicated that less than 20 per cent of the 1.8 billion Barrels of Oil Equivalent (BOE) discovered last year was gas.
Soon after the Government issued permit licences to ExxonMobil for the Payara Development Project last year, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had announced that the Government would turn its attention to negotiating the gas-to-energy project.
He had pointed out that Guyana was generating power at nearly 17 to 20 cents per kilowatt/hour. As such, he noted that the project could cut the cost of electricity in the country by more than half. To this end, he had announced that a team had been set up to start negotiations on the gas-to-energy project, with the Government eyeing 2023 to bring the project to fruition.
The Guyana Power and Light (GPL), in its Development and Expansion (D&E) plan for 2021 to 2025, estimates that by 2025 some 465 megawatts and 2900 Gigawatt hours (GWH) of power would be needed.
Government wants an energy mix that uses both natural gas (the gas-to-shore project) and Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO), as well as renewable energy like hydropower, wind, and solar. (G12)