Home Letters Opportunity to generate electricity using hybrid facility
Dear Editor,
The Government of Guyana is implementing a plan for a gas-to-energy project which will deliver 250 megawatts (MW) of power from a Wales gas-fired plant to the grid, to save on costs and emissions associated with power generation. However, its natural gas programme extends beyond the Wales operation, as it is preparing more power plants to be fuelled by natural gas.
“Guyana Power and Light Inc, (GPL) plans to convert 106MW of their existing [heavy fuel oil] HFO capacity to dual-fuel engines (HFO/NG) by 2026,” states the low carbon development strategy (LCDS) 2030 draft.
However, The People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Government intends for Guyana’s energy mix to be 67 per cent renewable by 2035, according to the recently launched draft expanded Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). The first largescale energy project is the 250-megawatt (MW) gas-to-energy project, which is fossil fuel, but the Government does not intend for gas to dominate Guyana’s energy mix for a very long time. It will only act as a transition fuel while Guyana gathers renewable energy projects. When gas comes to shore in 2024, it will make up 94 per cent of the energy mix, according to LCDS projections.
“While natural gas provides a short to medium-term solution, over the medium and long-term, the most sustainable and resilient energy mix in Guyana would be formed by solar, wind, hydro and biomass power plants,” the draft document states.
The Government sees hydro power as important to provide firm capacity and short-term energy storage to make up for daily and weekly fluctuations from solar and wind sources.
It also expects hydro to provide a cheaper solution in the long-term than any other technology, due to its lifespan, while the Government and the Private Sector will explore options for solar power, hydropower, wind power and biomass technologies.
Most recently, it was announced that Cabinet had granted its no objection for China Railway Group Limited to construct the hydro project. The project will be built under the BOOT model (Build Own Operate Transfer), which will see the Guyana Power and Light buying power from the company at no more than US7.7 cents per kilowatt.
The revival of the 165-megawatt Amaila Falls Hydropower Project was one of the promises made by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) in its manifesto. The project was initiated under the previous PPP/C Administration, but was scrapped by the coalition Administration. The Amaila Falls Hydropower Project was the flagship of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). Amaila 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.
Guyana has an opportunity to create hybrid-designed facilities to generate electricity by both solar panels and dam turbines, the hybrid facility can prolong the continual period of power generation, and reduce fluctuation and uncertainty that are typical for renewable energy, relying on weather conditions.
By integrating solar power with hydropower, and creating a hydro-floating solar hybrid power generation plant where power comes from solar cells in the daytime and from hydropower at night or in peak periods, leading to a higher efficiency and marking a major step in Guyana’s planned reduction of its carbon footprint.
Combining these two renewable energy floating solar farms and an existing hydropower plant would also create an opportunity for a tourist attraction, opening it to visitors, a move which will create more jobs, generate income for local residents, and stimulate the local economic growth.
The emergence of renewable energy has revolutionised world markets, and renewables-driven change continues with unprecedented speed. Even several years ago, few would have guessed the scope of the new technologies that have been developed to help countries like Guyana continue the process of decarbonising their economies.
Sincerely,
David Adams