More reliable power for consumers – $10 B generation plant soon to be commissioned
Guyanese will soon begin enjoying more reliable energy as a new 46.5-megawatt power generation plant will be commissioned.
This was stated by Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar, MP, during an interview on NCN on Wednesday.
“It is actually on the grid right now, but we are going to have the commissioning very shortly, they are doing the reliability test. So, they are actually putting power on to the grid but on a test basis,” Minister Indar stated.
The $10 billion power plant is located at Guyana Power and Light’s (GPL), Garden of Eden Power Station. The state-of-the-art power plant constructed by Wartsila is dual fuel energy, meaning it can utilise heavy fuel oil and natural gas simultaneously.
Additionally, Minister Indar noted that government is working quickly on providing Guyanese with cheap and reliable energy. An Expression of Interest was advertised for the gas to shore project, which will generate about 300 megawatts of power. Of that amount, about 250 megawatts will go towards the national grid and is projected to be completed by 2024.
Further, Minister Indar said government is working to fulfil its manifesto promise with the construction of the Amaila Falls hydropower project. He noted that a Request for Proposals (RFP) is also out for that project, which will produce 165 megawatts of renewable energy.
The RPF outlines two options. The first is to Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT). This means that all costs of the project up to the commissioning date would be borne by the developer, who would operate the project for a 20-year BOOT period. At the end of the period, the project would revert to the government at no cost.
The second option is for a Design-Build-Finance (D-B-F) where the developer finances the development of the project up to commissioning date. The government would later take over the project and fulfil the financing repayment obligations, only upon the satisfactory completion and commissioning.