The Government of Guyana has designated eight solar farms along Guyana’s coast, with project summaries submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) outlining an anticipated generation capacity of 33MWp.
Funded by the US$83.3 million from Norway earmarked for forest conservation, these solar farms fall under the Guyana Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Programme (GUYSOL).
Distributed across three grids, the solar farms encompass a 15MWp solar PV system with 22MWh of battery storage in the Linden isolated system, an 8MWp system with 12MWh of battery storage for the Essequibo coast isolated system, and a 10MWp system for the Demerara-Berbice interconnected system in Berbice. The designated areas include Block 37 and Retrieve in Linden, Hampshire in Berbice, Onderneeming in West Bank Demerara, Dacoura and Prospect in Linden, Tragflagar in Mahaica-Berbice, and Charity in Essequibo.
The Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL), the primary state power utility, is overseeing the execution of this initiative. Apart from contributing to economic diversification, increased resilience against global fuel market fluctuations, and cost savings for state power utilities, the project aims to reduce government subsidies, facilitating improvements in transmission and distribution networks. Additionally, the project allocates US$850,000 for women’s training in solar installation.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), managing the funds, asserts that these solar projects will curb CO2 emissions, lower electricity costs, and support Guyana’s transition to renewable energy sources, benefiting approximately 265,000 residents. Guyana has set a target to increase its solar capacity to 39MW by 2025.
