Guyana commissioned a new 1.5 megawatt (MW) hydropower station in the southeastern community of Kumu on Friday, part of a broader government effort to expand renewable energy generation across hinterland communities.
The Kumu Hydropower Station is expected to supply approximately 9,700 megawatt-hours (MWh) of clean electricity annually to the Lethem Power Company grid, reducing fossil fuel dependence in Guyana’s Region Nine, the Office of the Prime Minister said in a Facebook post.
The project was built under the government’s Small Hydropower Projects initiative and financed by the Islamic Development Bank. It forms part of an integrated renewable power system in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region, alongside the 1 MW Lethem solar farm and the recently rehabilitated Moco Moco hydropower plant.
The Moco Moco plant, with an installed capacity of 0.7 MW, was commissioned in December 2024 after undergoing rehabilitation. It was originally funded and built by the Chinese government in 1999 but sustained damage years later, rendering it inoperable for an extended period.
Sri Lankan contractor Vidullanka PLC was awarded the contract to construct both the Kumu and Moco Moco hydropower stations in late 2022, according to a notice from Guyana’s National Procurement and Tender Administration Board. The combined contract was valued at $12.85 million at the time of award.
Guyana is also working on solar farm projects across the country, as part of its renewable energy agenda. A large 165 MW hydropower project is being contemplated, but its future is uncertain after the last effort to make a deal with a contractor could not be reached to the satisfaction of both parties.
A 300 MW gas-to-power project is expected to deliver gas-fired power by mid-2026, replacing Guyana’s current heavy fuel oil-generated power with a less polluting option.
