Norway to continue forest preservation collaboration with Guyana – PM Støre

– says eager to share experiences, lessons with Guyana

Building on the historic 2009 agreement, the Kingdom of Norway is ready to continue its long-standing collaboration with Guyana on forest preservation.
This was revealed by the Prime Minister (PM) of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre following a recent meeting with President Dr Irfaan Ali on the sidelines of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP30) in Belém, Brazil.

In a social media post after the meeting on Friday, President Ali said, “Our discussions focused on strengthening the longstanding partnership between Guyana and Norway on forest preservation through the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund.”
Back in 2009, the two countries inked the historic Guyana-Norway Agreement that saw Guyana receiving about US$220 million as results-based payment for preserving its forest under the first phase of the Bharrat Jagdeo-crafted Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).
Following Friday’s engagement, the Norwegian PM highlighted that the 2009 forest pact had positive effects for Guyana, especially its Indigenous people.
“We are small countries; we work together… So, I think investing in sustainability, in management, preserving the forest, and building an energy economy which is not overheated – that is the critical thing. We have our experiences in Norway, and some of them are pretty Norwegian, but I think there are also lessons we can share, and that’s what I did with the President,” PM Støre indicated.
With a tropical forest that takes up 86 per cent of its landmass, Guyana has the second-highest percentage of forest cover on earth and one of the lowest deforestation rates. The country’s forest is over 18 million hectares – the size of England and Scotland combined – and stores over 20 gigatonnes of carbon and sequesters more than 153 million tonnes annually.

LCDS 20230
Guyana had used revenues generated from the 2009 deal with Norway to invest in the country’s low-carbon development, financing renewable energy, flood protection, and green job creation, as well as land titling and development of funds for indigenous peoples.
In 2022, Guyana and Norway expanded their collaboration under the Ali-led Administration’s revised LCDS 2030 initiative – working together this time on renewable energy.
This new partnership saw Guyana and Norway teaming up with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to finance one of the largest solar projects here that will benefit thousands of Guyanese.
For this project – Guyana Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Programme (GUYSOL) – Guyana will use funds received for its low deforestation rates to finance eight large-scale solar energy projects. In total, the projects will provide 27,000 households with cheap, clean energy – benefiting approximately 70,000 persons.

Solar power investment
GUYSOL will invest in eight utility-scale, photovoltaic solar projects totalling 33 megawatts peak (MWp), with associated 34 megawatt/hour (MWh) energy storage systems distributed across three areas in Guyana. The programme will be implemented by Guyana and the IDB.
Only in June last year, a US$38 million contract was signed between GUYSOL and Chinese company SUMEC to construct solar farms in Regions Two, Five, Six and 10.
Last week, a 5-megawatt solar PV farm was commissioned at Onderneeming on the Essequibo Coast in Region Two.
Dubbed Guyana’s largest hybrid solar-plus-storage power facility to date, the US$10.4 million solar farm marks a historic expansion of power capacity on the Essequibo Coast, increasing the region’s generation from 16 MW to approximately 22.5 MW.
At the November 1 commissioning ceremony, Prime Minister Brigadier (Retired) Mark Phillips said this project, along with the 3 MW solar farm at Charity that is now under construction, will see Essequibo benefitting from a combined output of 12,300 MWh annually – meeting more than 20 per cent of the region’s projected 2026 energy demand.
He said the Onderneeming installation alone will produce approximately 7700 MWh per year, saving an estimated G$447 million in fossil fuel costs and reducing 6000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
Turning to the human and operational dimensions of the GUYSOL programme, the Prime Minister highlighted the project’s inclusive approach with provisions for training, employment and capacity-building. Under this project, 31 women, including nine from Region Two, have been trained and employed in solar PV installation, while 20 apprentices – among them six persons with disabilities – are gaining experience in engineering, finance and project management.
Meanwhile, the Government’s utility-scale solar programme is advancing across multiple locations, with the largest of these farms being developed in Linden, Region 10, with a planned capacity of 15 megawatts.
Collectively, these initiatives are expected to increase Guyana’s renewable generation capacity to over 39 megawatts by 2026, strengthening energy security and supporting sustainable growth in both coastal and hinterland communities.