Guyana has potential to export energy – UK consultant

TIMES INT'L

By Samuel Sukhnandan –

Guyana has great potential of becoming an energy exporting country, if it works to develop the some 67 sites identified during the compilation of a framework for the National Land Use Plan, which was recently launched.
This is according to the UK consultant for the project Jeffrey King. During a Powerpoint presentation at the launch, King said a total hydropower potential of four-and–a-half gigawatts has been identified. Guyana’s demand for energy is currently 110 megawatts, which is way below the level of electricity that can be produced from these sites altogether.

A map depicting potential hydro-power sites in Guyana
A map depicting potential hydro-power sites in Guyana

The UK consultant believes that government should seriously look at developing these sites, in order to capitalise on the offer to sell its energy resources to other countries. King said that establishing these hydro-power sites could fit in perfectly with Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). However, the consultant believes that there is an urgent need for government to create an energy policy that will guide future plans in that regard, making Guyana successful in energy export.
Meanwhile, coming out of the entire National Land Use Plan, it was discovered that there is an enormous amount of land space still available for agricultural use. The UK consultant said that “there are many class three and four land for agriculture and forest use”.
King commended Guyana for still having the country covered by 98 per cent natural vegetation. Coming out of the research for the compilation of the plan, it was noted that deforestation and forest degradation remain low.

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