Guyana decarbonization roadmap envisions 2nd hydro plant

Guyana plans to identify a site for a second utility-scale hydroelectric plant by 2025, according to the government’s just released Low-carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). 

The current hydropower focus is the development of the 165MW Amaila Falls project, which recently drew proposals from four groups. 

“Using natural gas as a bridge away from heavy fuel oil, followed by the Amaila Falls hydropower project by 2027, Guyana will see a massive expansion of renewable energy across the country,” according to the roadmap. The last LCDS was published in 2009. 

The LCDS forecasts that demand will triple over the next five years, with peak load on the Demerara Berbice interconnected system (DBIS) – Guyana’s largest grid – estimated to reach 415MW from 126MW in 2020. DBIS currently boasts 202MW of firm capacity. 

In addition, the strategy highlights plans to land natural gas onshore from offshore production to initially fire a power plant which is penciled in to come online in 2024. 

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Regarding the nation’s upstream hydrocarbons push, the strategy adds that “Guyana supports the achievement of net zero by the 2050 target, including the more short-term target of a 28% reduction in global oil demand by 2030. To be effective, global policies to achieve these targets need to be fair, economically rational and based on science.” 

“If Guyana were to prematurely forego oil and gas revenues, it would simply mean a continuation of a de facto monopoly where incumbents would meet demand and benefit from the industry, which will be worth trillions of dollars for decades to come. It would also mean that Guyana would remain poor and unable to invest in lifting the living standards of its people.” 

The government has opened consultation for the LCDS that will run through end-February with the goal of submitting a finalized version to the national assembly by June. 

The 110-page document is available here and additional information at this link.