“Strategic discussions” on the regional energy corridor bridging Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and northern Brazil are set to happen in January 2022, President Ali announced last Friday.
In his keynote address to the 25th annual award ceremony hosted by the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA), Dr. Ali shared that France has also asked to be a part of dialogue amongst the three South American nations.
This project would see the countries, which form part of the ‘Arco Norte’ region, trading electricity and cooperate on utilising efficient power sources, which would reduce costs and environmental and social impacts. The planned electricity grid across these countries has already undergone studies which have examined the utilization of the energy potential of Guyana and Suriname.
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The involvement of Guyana and Suriname in the electricity corridor has faced renewed interest due to recent large hydrocarbon discoveries offshore the South American countries. Estimates place the combined gas reserves of Guyana and Suriname over ten trillion cubic feet.
The Government of Guyana has already commenced work on a gas-to-energy project in partnership with ExxonMobil. Set to come on stream by 2024, this cleaner energy project holds the potential to slash electricity costs by 50% and replace the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO).
The regional energy corridor project had been in talks for several years, as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) conducted baseline and pre-feasibility studies in 2016 and 2017.
The Bank had stated that the main benefits of such a project would be a lower-cost generation for all countries involved; potentially lowered electricity prices for consumers in Guyana and Suriname; more secure supply; reduced carbon dioxide emissions and export earnings, especially for Guyana.
Meanwhile, President Ali stated on Friday that the development of the Corentyne River and the bridge that Guyana and Suriname are pursuing will make way for massive opportunities between the two countries. Already, the governments of Guyana and Suriname have taken steps to procure a contractor to construct this crossing.
“In the energy corridor, we want to have the development of the Corentyne River frontier, and that includes the Corentyne River bridge. On our side, we have tremendous opportunities because one of the largest deposits of A-grade bauxite is here,” Mr. Ali said. “With the energy from natural gas, we are talking about the development of aluminum, linking the deep-water harbour. Now, overnight a project that was not viable becomes viable. The deep-water harbor by itself could not be viable, but the deep-water with this becomes extremely viable and lucrative.”
Further, the government is also operationalising plans for renewable energy projects to support its intention of creating a cleaner energy mix. These include the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project as well as solar and wind developments that are in advanced stages.
President Ali had said that the operationalisation of this plan would require the development of local knowledge and capacity in the area of logistics.
