A four-member technical team of specialists headed by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) Associate Director Dr G Rudra Narsimha Rao is in Guyana for three months to spearhead phase two of technical support to the Guyana government in the areas of climate change and energy.
Among the aspects they will be looking at are; a best practice manual to promote energy management and conservation of rice mills, a technical study to improve sugar production, energy efficiency, investments in the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) and demand management and gasifier technology application for sawmills.
The initiative also includes guidance and recommendations on improving energy efficiency in buildings and street lighting, among others.
In the process, the team from Delhi, India will work with agencies such as the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and the brainstorming of collaboration with government and non-government sectors.
The team met President Donald Ramotar last week for talks in the company of head of the Office of Climate Change Shyam Nokta.
Engagements between the Guyana government and TERI commenced in 2011 following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at providing support to Guyana’s climate initiatives and the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).
March 2012 marked the first mission to Guyana where the focus was on assessing energy initiatives like solar energy for lighting, micro-hydro and improving energy efficiency in the different sectors of Guyana’s economy.
The potential and suitability of biomass gasifiers and the provision of suitable technology were also examined.
TERI, an energy, environment and sustainable development research institute was established in 1974. Nobel Prize laureate and chairman of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Dr R K Pachauri is the head of the institution.
Late last year, Dr Pachauri was installed chairman of Guyana’s well known international rainforest conservation, research and development centre, Iwokrama.
