Companies looking to transition from carbon-free energy sources may find help with technologies from the United States, Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch said on Thursday. She was at the time addressing an energy roundtable discussion held by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Guyana.
“To the many businesses in attendance today, if you are interested in finding U.S. solutions for your renewable energy needs our commercial team is happy to help facilitate those connections,” Lynch said.
Discussing efforts by the United States’ goal of being a net-zero emitter by 2050, Lynch said that it just will not be a success without the participation of the private sector. This shift toward renewable energy deployment in the United States, the Ambassador explained, has opened doors for private sector innovation and encouraged rapid technological improvements.
“Not only are renewables needed to decarbonise the energy sector to address global warming,” Lynch told the roundtable, “But in a place like Guyana we know it is also a transition that can improve your access to reliable electricity, and in turn improve your bottom line as a business.”
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The Ambassador noted that Guyana lacks grid tie-in legislation, which would allow companies to sell renewable power to the national grid.
She said that businesses have a vital role to play in the energy transition, adding that the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of the United States has a number of financing and support mechanisms to offer, to facilitate larger scale purchase of quality U.S. made equipment.
The Bank is currently exploring opportunities in Guyana that it can support. Director of Renewable Energy at the Bank, Craig O’Connor, tuned into the discussion virtually and spoke to the importance of the transition.
“What’s more, the grid itself needs to be stable. It requires modernization with redundancies so that if one power line fails you don’t get rolling blackouts for large portions of the grid. An updated grid must also be able to handle power fluctuations and adjust for the ebbs and flows of all kinds of power, and unexpected disruptions,” Lynch said.
Guyana is working on implementing an automated smart grid to complement its clean energy agenda, under the expanded Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).
A green energy mix does not happen overnight, Lynch told the roundtable. But she explained that due to the relatively small size of Guyana’s emissions and its energy demand, every 5 MW, 10 MW or 25 MW renewable energy project contributes in a substantial way in shifting the energy mix toward a decarbonised energy matrix.
