Large solar farms for Linden, Essequibo –VP Jagdeo

Residents in Linden and Essequibo will benefit from large-scale solar power farms as the PPP/C Government looks to up its renewable energy push.

This was revealed today by Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo at a press conference.

Dr. Jagdeo said they would be using money earned during the last PPP/C administration from the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund with Norway.

“Essequibo currently is 6MW of power, that’s peak, so we have to decide a solar unit maybe of 6 to 8MW in Essequibo. Linden uses about 12 MW now; we have to decide maybe between 12 to 15 MW. 

But those two systems are being designed now … a huge solar farm for Linden and a huge solar farm for Essequibo whilst we’re still looking at the other areas for improvement.” 

The VP noted that energy is crucial to Guyana’s development and added that there would be a major advancement in that area this year.

Even as work gets underway on those large projects, there has been movement on smaller renewable energy projects to boost the country’s energy mix. 

Dr. Jagdeo said many of them have already been tendered and are awaiting construction. These would be for areas not connected to the national power grid such as Bartica, Lethem and the Essequibo islands, Wakenaam and Leguan.

Those projects include several small solar farms. Additionally, a contract has already been approved for hydropower in Kumu Village in Region Nine. 

Meanwhile, Government had signalled that it intends to complete the US$840 million Amaila Falls Hydropower Project it had initiated before 2015 but which the APNU+AFC had discontinued. 

Another hydropower project, a $450 million plant at Kato, Region Eight, was being reviewed in light of several contractor breaches. 

The Government envisions that it will provide more than 400MW of newly-installed capacity for residential and commercial industrial users over the period 2020 to 2025.