Hydropower still on the cards for Guyana
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| Published on Thursday, June 5, 2008 |
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GEORGETOWN, Guyana (GINA): Prime Minister Samuel Hinds has said that efforts by the Guyana government to pursue alternative sources of energy as a means of looking beyond the demand for fossil fuel are still on the cards.
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| Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, GPL's Chairman Winston Brassington and CEO Bharrat Dindyal speaking to members of the Economic Services Committee |
The prime minister made these remarks while addressing members of the Economic Services Committee on Wednesday, who had requested his presence to respond to questions of electricity supply and the operations of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) among other related issues.
The Committee, which included Anthony Vieira, (Chairman), Gail Teixeira, Winston Murray, Irfan Ally, Khemraj Ramjatan, among others, submitted a list of questions relating to the government’s future plans for the fossil fuel generation of energy, the projected cost of electricity production to the national grid, the current level of technical and commercial power loss, the Un-Served Areas Electrification Programme (UAEP) and the regulatory framework for electricity.
The prime minister, accompanied by GPL’s chairman Winston Brassington and chief executive officer (CEO) Bharrat Dindyal also responded to questions about the projected needs for renewable energy initiatives and the challenges Guyana is likely to face for investing in hydroelectricity, wind power and solar energy.
The Prime Minister said hydroelectricity has been in the making since the 1970s when an initial survey with the United Nations (UN) was conducted.
He made reference to the Amelia Falls, which is one of six sites identified as a potential location in Guyana and which is well-known for its cascading waterways.
The Prime Minister said that it is hoped that by year-end ‘the ground will be broken’ for the development of the Amaila site, which is capable of providing about 140 megawatts of electricity for Guyana.
“This is an issue of switching from electricity from the current price to electricity at nearly the same price but being protected against further increases in the price of oil,” the prime minister said.
About 70 to 80 percent of Guyana’s electricity needs are to be supplied from this source by the year 2012, the prime minister projected.
Considerable progress had been made in the development of the project but the investor, according to the prime minister, found difficulties with the investment cost and the price of oil at that time.
The project was expected to be facilitated by a US$200 million hydrostation, which includes a dam and the power house, and US$150 million for the transmission lines.
Given the topography of Guyana, the prime minister said the cost for pursuing hydropower projects will be high.
“The unit cost for hydropower stations itself is higher in Guyana than other stations that were being developed elsewhere in the world and the distance is also an issue,” the prime minister said.
The government is also hopeful that the Turtruba Hydro Project in the Mazaruni, Region Seven will be realised. This site has been identified through a feasibility study in 2002 as one with immense potential to supply power to the Caribbean region.
The Turtruba Hydropower project has the potential of producing more than 11,000 megawatts of power with minimal environmental degradation.
The hydropower technology will allow isolated power sources to be transmitted to Brazil and parts of the Caribbean. Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica could be beneficiaries of the power supply. | | | | Reads : 416 | | | |
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