It remains a contradiction that while Guyana maintains its position as the world’s fastest growing economy, the country continues to be plagued by regular power outages that have been a feature of life since the 1980s. While initially the issue was attributed to insufficient generating capacity, that has changed over the last 40-odd years. The prevailing narrative from the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) usually accompanied by an apology for the inconvenience and a promise of improvement, is one of transmission failures, feeder trips, damage to infrastructure by contractors and heavy equipment, and equipment breakdowns.
Spending on energy has not been insignificant either. Successive governments have bridged the gap left by GPL’s financial deficit with grants to the tune of billions of dollars.
The current hype is that things will begin to look up once the massive projects that dominate this administration’s energy strategy come on stream. Foremost among these is the gas-to-energy initiative, which has overrun its originally stated cost and is now likely to reach US$2 billion. The government has also highlighted hydropower developments, and upgrades to the national grid and investments in renewable energy. Solar farms have been established in areas of Regions Two, Three, Six, Seven, Eight and Nine; none of which exceed five megawatts in capacity with more planned elsewhere.
What is missing from this equation is Region Four. Home to our capital city, approximately 40 percent of the population and the country’s largest concentration of commercial and industrial activity, this region has received little attention as a source of solar generation.
This is particularly significant because Region Four is also where electricity demand is growing most rapidly. New housing developments, hotels, office complexes, shopping centres, industrial facilities and government buildings continue to place increasing pressure on the GPL network.
The excuse might be that given how populated it is at present, situating a solar farm in this region could reduce the land available for housing. But there is an alternative; as there often is. One need only examine the strides made by Australia with regard to rooftop solar. A report published last week in the UK Guardian stated that Australia leads the world in residential solar on per capita terms, with 22 gigawatts installed as of last December.
The example is obvious. Thousands of acres of rooftop space exist across Region Four. Schools, hospitals, government offices, warehouses, factories, supermarkets, shopping centres, churches and private homes collectively represent a vast and largely untapped solar resource. Unlike utility-scale projects, rooftop solar does not require large tracts of land, lengthy environmental approvals or the construction of new transmission corridors. The infrastructure is already there.
The economics are equally compelling. This country continues to have some of the highest electricity costs in the Caribbean, with power prices ranging from US$0.24 to US$0.30 per kilowatt-hour. High energy costs affect business competitiveness and increase the cost of living. Every rooftop solar system installed would reduce demand on the grid during daylight hours while lowering electricity bills for consumers.
There is also another benefit. Today, a single damaged transmission line, substation failure or equipment malfunction can leave thousands without electricity. A city supplied by thousands of rooftop systems is inherently more resilient than one dependent on a handful of centralized generating facilities. Distributed generation spreads risk and reduces pressure on transmission infrastructure.
The government’s own data suggest the opportunity is substantial. GPL reportedly loses approximately 26 percent of the electricity it generates through inefficiencies in the transmission and distribution network. While upgrading the grid remains essential, reducing demand on it through distributed solar generation could help alleviate congestion, reduce technical losses, and lower peak loads.
Were the government to invest seriously in such a programme, it could also offer low-interest financing for households, tax incentives for commercial installations, solar requirements for new public buildings, expanded net-metering arrangements, and grants for schools, health facilities and community organisations. Large warehouses and industrial buildings could be encouraged to install solar systems and battery storage capable of supplying a portion of their own energy needs.
None of this would eliminate the need for the gas-to-energy project, new transmission infrastructure or the utility-scale renewable energy projects; it would complement them. In effect, it would transform consumers into partial producers, easing demand at the very point where the system is most stressed. It is also in line with the current administration’s stated objective of increasing the role of renewable energy in the national mix. The obvious question is therefore whether the powers that be will fully recognise the value of distributed generation in the most critical part of the national grid.
Discussion