While it has expressed great satisfaction with many of the transformational proiects in the PPP/C’s $553B budget, the Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber (GOGEC) said it is particularly impressed with the budget’s push for a low carbon economy and the measures outlined to achieve same.
In this regard, the Chamber said it is pleased to see the injection of funding to accelerate the development of the transformative gas-to-energy project and the Amaila Falls Hydro Power Project. It said these strategic investments will unlock private sector transformation that embraces more significant value creation through light and heavy processing.
Expounding further, it said, “The small scale hydro projects at Kumu, MocoMoco, and Kato and off-grid solar projects will significantly improve access to affordable energy services with high-quality standards to develop the communities in the interior.”
Further to this, the Chamber said that establishing a coordinated approach for the electrification of the interior is commendable too as this would narrow the disparity between rural and urban areas and pave the way to a robust digital future for indigenous peoples and rural communities.
For future consideration however, the Chamber said it desires to engage with the Government to better leverage private sector participation in the accelerated diffusion of renewable energy technologies, including e-mobility solutions. It was keen to note in this regard that the government’s initiative to implement Electric Vehicle (EV) charging is excellent and sets an example for the shift to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly country. But to ensure even greater success in this regard, the Chamber recommended that Solar EV charging stations be implemented across all government buildings and for Government vehicles to lead the shift to a fully electric vehicle fleet.
It said the government should also consider a reduced tax rate for hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles. “This will encourage customers to purchase more environmentally friendly cars, therefore, reducing the emission of Carbon Dioxide.”
To further expand the ecosystem of enabling policies, the Government may consider subsidies for installing the Solar PV configurations for residential EV charging. It said measures should be extended to the complete solution, which includes: panels, inverters, transformers, and batteries.
On the foregoing premise, GOGEC said it looks forward to advocating for the equitable development of all energy resources and the households and industries that rely on them.
