Hampshire’s 3MW solar farm powers up as Guyana accelerates low-carbon transition

Rows of solar panels now cover former cane fields in rural Hampshire, marking another major step in Guyana’s drive to cut emissions, lower energy costs and expand clean power nationwide.

The new 3MW solar farm, commissioned on Friday, is one of eight large installations being rolled out under the Guyana Utility Scale Solar Photovoltaic (GUYSOL) Programme, financed through climate-performance payments Guyana earned by protecting its forests under its partnership with the Kingdom of Norway.

“This solar plant is part of the Guyana Utility Solar Programme… with a total value of 83.8 million US dollars from our partnership with the Kingdom of Norway,” said Keshe Nandlall, GPL’s Executive Management Team Lead. “It advances our renewable energy goals and delivers tangible benefits to our community.”

Cutting costs and carbon in Berbice

Region Six alone is receiving 10MW of new solar capacity, spread across Hampshire, Prospect and Trafalgar. The Hampshire plant hosts nearly 5,000 solar modules, now feeding electricity directly into the Berbice grid.

“This facility will produce about 4,800 megawatt-hours of clean energy each year… avoiding around 210 million dollars in diesel generation costs and reducing emissions across the country,” Nandlall added.

The project forms part of Guyana’s wider push to diversify its energy mix, strengthen grid reliability and reduce its dependence on imported fuel a core component of the country’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) submitted under the UNFCCC

Women and youth powering the transition

But the initiative is not only transforming the energy landscape, it is opening new technical career paths, especially for young women. Under GUYSOL, a cohort of 31 women from Regions 2, 5, 6 and 10 has been trained in solar installation.

“Thirty-one out of fifty women were trained and gainfully employed… and six persons with disabilities are already working in the programme,” said Lorena Solórzano-Salazar, the IDB’s Country Representative. “These systems will be maintained in Guyanese hands, empowered by Guyanese talent.”

A transformation built on historic climate finance

Guyana’s rapid expansion of renewable energy is being funded by a climate-finance model more than a decade old. In the late 2000s, Guyana and Norway, under President Bharrat Jagdeo, signed one of the world’s first bilateral forest-climate agreements, compensating Guyana for maintaining its intact rainforest.

“Norway agreed to pay Guyana 250 million US dollars, recognising the climate services provided by our standing forests,” recalled Dr Ashni Singh, Minister of Finance. “80 million of those resources were earmarked for low-carbon investments such as these solar farms.”

That partnership remains central to the country’s LCDS, which now guides Guyana’s national energy transformation.

“A multi-lane energy future”

With Guyana’s electricity demand expected to triple by 2028, the government says no single source can meet the country’s growing needs. Instead, it is pursuing what officials describe as a “multi-lane pathway”,  combining natural gas, hydropower, solar and wind.

“This facility sends a clear signal that Guyana is serious about the transition to cleaner energy sources,” said Prime Minister Mark Phillips. “Our energy strategy is a multi-lane pathway; natural gas, hydro, solar and wind, all moving us toward reliable, low-carbon power.”

The Prime Minister also framed affordable energy as a matter of equity.

“Affordable energy restores dignity… and ensures development touches every home. When electricity is costly, opportunity becomes unaffordable.”

With more solar farms set to be commissioned in the coming weeks and hydropower developments advancing, officials say Guyana’s energy transition is accelerating at a pace that mirrors its wider economic transformation.

In communities across Region Six, the Hampshire solar farm is more than an energy project , it’s a sign of what clean power, climate finance and local talent can build together.