US$38M MoU inked for construction of solar farms across Guyana

…additional 18 megawatts of power to be generated

An additional 18 megawatts of solar power will be added to the national grid’s capacity as a result of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Guyana Government and Chinese companies SUMEC Complete Equipment & Engineering Corporation Limited and XJ Group Corporation.
This development is being facilitated through the Guyana Utility Scale Solar Photovoltaic Program, which is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB’s) Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund, and is valued at US$38 million.

Under the project, solar farms will be constructed in the following regions: Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), Five (Mahaica-Berbice) and Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
When these solar farms are completed, some ten megawatts of electricity would be added to the national grid from structures at Trafalgar, West Coast Berbice, Region 5;
Prospect and Hampshire Village on the Corentyne Coast in Region Six; and at
Onderneeming and Charity on the Essequibo Coast in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), from where eight megawatts would be added to the national grid.
During his remarks to those gathered at the signing ceremony, Senior Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh disclosed that the project also caters for construction of a 69 kilovolt (kV) interconnection line for the Trafalgar Farm and one 13.8kV interconnection line for each of the Farms at Prospect and Hampshire.
“Those are significant additions to our electricity generating capability, and they represent a significant step forward in our transition to cleaner and more renewable sources of energy. They represent the single largest installation of solar capability in our country’s history thus far, and the single largest investment in renewable energy to date,” Dr. Singh said.
The Chinese Ambassador to Guyana, H.E Guo Haiyan, has lauded the Guyana Government for investing in renewable energy, and has signalled China’s commitment to ensuring that Guyana achieves its Sustainable Development Goals while fighting climate change and enhancing environmental protection.

“China is the world’s largest market of solar power, and also the supplier… Now Guyana has ushered (in that) development opportunity and China enjoys the advantage of production and technology which constitute complementarity between the two countries. So, we have a bright future in development, especially in the new energy development,” the Chinese Ambassador has posited.
This project, considered the single largest investment in renewable energy in Guyana, aligns with the plans of the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030 which are intended to increase the share of green renewable energy in Guyana’s energy matrix.
Additionally, within the Essequibo contract, there will be investment in the digital transformation of the Essequibo electrical systems from analog procedures to digital real-time automated monitoring and control for the solar farms. This will enhance the reliability of the Essequibo grid.
The investment will see the cost of generation being lowered by using less Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) and diesel, and will prevent emission of in excess of 39,000 tons of CO2 up to the end of the program in 2027.
The 5 solar farms being built will continue to offset at least 19,000 tons of CO2 emissions on an annual basis. (G2)