President Irfaan Ali Monday said the government has commenced investment in the energy sector, aiming for new generation capacity of at least 500 Megawatts (MW) in the immediate term, with the option to expand this further in the longer term. The goal is to cut electricity costs in half within the next four years.
This is part of effort to ensure Guyanese benefit from energy sufficiency, reliability, affordability and sustainability.
Already, some of the major initiatives that have gotten underway include: the development of the gas-to-shore project at the Wales Development Authority (WDA) at Wales on the West Bank of Demerara in Region Three. The WDA, the President said, will see 250 MW of new power generation facilitated.
Meanwhile, he highlighted that works are ongoing on the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, which will deliver another 160 MW of new power. This hydropower project will be backed by solar generating capacity, expected to deliver at least 30 MW of power.
And, he said that within individual remote communities and clusters of communities, stand-alone renewable solutions will also be explored, including hydropower and solar power plants as well as stand-alone solar panels.
With works in these projects at various stages of implementation, the President said that the final outcome would see energy cost slashed by at least 50 percent before the end of 2024.
