Govt. continues with revised Wind Farm project
Oct 01, 2016, , http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....d-wind-farm-project/
The APNU+AFC government continues to pursue its Green renewable energy plans and Total Energy Solutions Inc, the company which proposed the Hope Beach Wind Farm project, is still on board.
Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson
Yesterday, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, told Kaieteur News that discussions with the company are ongoing. However, the project will not be as big as initially envisaged.
Patterson said that less electricity is expected to be generated. He said that government is now at the stage where it is allowing the company to seek necessary approval from various agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The Wind Farm project is a multi-million-dollar investment. The investment is the alternative in this period of transition to a green economy.
Businessman Lloyd Singh, proprietor of Total Energy Solutions Inc,. is convinced that the project is ideally suited for Government’s plans to pursue its Green Development Strategy (GDS), but there is, regrettably, some hesitancy in embracing the project.
He had received the go-ahead for the project under the PPP administration, but the administration was hesitant to embrace the project at the time. Kaieteur News understands that even the current government is hesitant. However this was not conveyed by Patterson.
Total Energy Solutions is proposing full financing of the project.
According to the company, there is a 69KVA power line near Hope Beach, and all the systems as laid out in its plans are ready for connectivity. The project schedule for the installation and operation of the wind farm is approximately one year. According to the company the turbines’ production and delivery will take some six months after the signing of the contract.
As regards the wind availability, Singh had told the media that the previous administration had concerns about the wind fluctuating in the Hope Beach area. But according to him, the area at Hope is ideally positioned. Trade winds are the prevailing pattern of easterly surface winds found in the tropics, the company said.
The wind blows predominantly from the northeast in this hemisphere and strengthens during the cold weather. At Hope Beach wind power is always constant.
The company said the Hope Beach Wind Farm is a renewable energy investment opportunity which supports the energy plans of the Government. It can produce an installed capacity of 26 megawatts of power. In total, it can supply 10% of the energy needed for the Demerara Interconnected System of the Guyana Power & Light.
A direct benefit for the green initiatives is the large sums the country can receive as income for carbon credit, while at the same time millions of dollars will be saved by not generating power from fossil fuels.
Late last year, the Government, through Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, indicated its no-objection to reviewing the project, which was aimed at ensuring it meets the required criteria.
In January this year, Minister Patterson told the newly installed Board of GPL that the greening of the country must also be among its focus area. The board, he said, will be tasked with transitioning to alternative energy needs.
While he noted that the Government’s plans include the creation of a 26-megawatt wind farm, Minister Patterson said that GPL is expected to be a part in the realisation of this goal.