Govt exploring alternative sources for electricity
– PM visits Skeldon Co-Gen plant
DPI, Guyana, Sunday, September 16, 2018
The Government is continuously working finding alternative sources of energy as it moves to implement its Green Agenda.
On September 15, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo visited the Skeldon Estate Co-Generation Power plant where he was given a tour of the facilities.
John Loncke, Operations and Maintenance Manager of the Skeldon Estate explained that while the facility has the capacity to produce forty megawatts of electricity, it needs more resources.
The Operations Manager related that the co-generation power plant is currently supplying electricity to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) grid noting that “at present, thirteen megawatts is the maximum that we can generate.”
He said that while the boilers are designed to use “fuel at times” biomass is the preferred method to generate the boilers. Loncke said while fuel can be used, it is very costly and biomass in the form of bagass, wood chips, sawdust, dried grass is a cheaper alternative.
According to the Operations Manager, currently, they are purchasing biomass at a rate of $4,500 per ton where available. He noted that the facility has its own transportation which uplifts the material and delivers it to the estate after which it is weighed.
Prime Minister Nagamootoo observed that forty megawatts of electricity amount to approximately twenty-five percent of the electricity used in Guyana, further noting that if it can be produced will “put an end to load shedding and a reduction in rates for electricity.”
The Prime Minister stated that the long-term plan is to implement alternative energy sources across Guyana and explained that in various parts across the country, solar panel farms and wind turbines are being established to provide sources of energy.
By: Anara Khan.
Images: Jameel Mohamed.