Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Mark Berman, holds the view that the agendas of Guyana’s petroleum and renewable energy sectors are not at odds. In fact, the High Commissioner highlighted that the country is in a fortunate position to be blessed with cleaner petroleum – the revenues of which can be invested to fund renewable energy growth in the new oil-producing South American country.
“There is a very sound argument and I have heard the leaders of Guyana ask, ‘Why not Guyana?’ I think that if you look at the [Low Carbon Development Strategy] LCDS, you can see that there is a plan to do that, and you are already seeing the large solar farms that are going to be set up. Guyana is also looking at other means of energy. I think it is a question of using the resources to develop the recognition of renewables. I don’t see those at odds at all,” Berman explained during a panel discussion at the launch of the Guyana Basins Summit on Tuesday.
This three-day long conference is being held at the Pegasus Suites and Corporate Centre, Georgetown, Guyana.
By positioning Guyana’s social, economic, and environmental needs front and center, the Summit aimed to connect international energy operators, license holders, project management, technology experts and major infrastructure developers with local Guyanese organisations seeking to best understand how to do business effectively with new partners.
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By 2030, Guyana anticipates having 70% of its energy supplied through a power mix of renewable and clean energy. These energy sources include natural gas, hydropower, solar power, wind power and biomass. In addition to lowering greenhouse gas emissions, these projects combined will significantly lower energy production and offer reliable power.
Works are already advanced with the 300 megawatts (MW) Gas-to-Energy (GTE) project slated to come on stream by 2024. GTE will translate to GY$27 billion in savings for Guyanese households. On the side of solar energy, Guyana hopes to have 33MW of installed solar capacity over the next five years. In total, this project will provide 27,000 households with cheap, clean energy – benefiting approximately 70,000 people.
