Norway study finds- Amaila Falls Hydro Power best option for Guyana’s energy transition

The best option to begin Guyana’s energy transition to renewable sources was adjudged in 2016
to be the Amaila Falls hydropower project, according to a study commissioned by the
Government of Norway.
It was the David Granger led administration that agreed to this objective and facts-based
assessment of AFHP. The report, compiled by Norconsult, on behalf of the Norwegian Agency
for Development Cooperation (NORAD), identified AFHP as critical for Guyana’s energy
transition. “The only realistic path for Guyana towards an emission free electricity sector is by
developing its hydropower potential. The fastest way forward is to maintain AFHP as the first
major step for substituting its current oil-fired generation,” Norconsult stated in its
report, Review of the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project in Guyana.
This guidance, though unequivocal, was not heeded by the previous administration. Up to now,
most of Guyana’s electricity generation is from the severely polluting heavy fuel oil (HFO).The
Finance Ministry announced on Monday that Cabinet recently granted its ‘no-objection’ for the
Office of the Prime Minister to engage China Railway Group Limited to construct AFHP. The
arrangement, according to the ministry’s release, is the Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT)
model, where the company will supply electricity to GPL at a cost not exceeding US$0.07737
per KWH. The company will provide the entire equity required by the project and undertake all
associated risks.
The deal so far is consistent with President Ali’s plan to bring the cost of power down to
US$0.15 per KWH, or lower.AFHP, projected to deliver 165 MW of new power to the grid by
2027, will supply a significant share of power needed for Guyana’s economic expansion in the
decade up to 2030, building on emissions reduction gains from the 250 MW gas-to-energy
project, expected by 2024.
While the government’s endgame is an energy mix dominated by renewable energy, and 100 per
cent renewable sometime down the line, Dr. Ali’s administration has decided that it is necessary
to bring natural gas from ExxonMobil’s Liza operation to shore for electricity generation
purposes, in the interim.
During a press conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Monday, Vice President
Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo explained that it would be more sensible to bring gas to shore in the early
stages of Guyana’s development, to make up the significant demand increase projected by
Guyana Power and Light (GPL) in coming years.
Despite being a fossil fuel, natural gas is the least polluting one. It offers a lesser polluting fossil
fuel as a halfway house for Guyana to meet its demand for energy in the interim, while still
reducing Guyana’s electricity related emissions. The new government had to revise the target set
by the previous Granger administration, which had committed to working toward 100 per cent
renewable energy sources by 2025.

In its five years in office, the previous administration implemented no largescale renewable
energy project to commence its abrupt energy transition target.Dr. Jagdeo has pegged the
previous target as unrealistic. He offered that the current government targets a 50% reduction in
emissions related to electricity generation by 2025, rising to 70% in the years following.
These targets are captured in the government’s recently launched expanded Low Carbon
Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030, and are open for public consultation.