Hope wind farm project still moving forward but on small scale – investor

The project to build a wind farm at Hope Beach is moving forward but will have to be scaled down by at least 50%, according Lloyd Singh, one of the investors of Guyana Wind Farm Incorporated (GWFI).

The government had approved the detailed examination of a proposal by GWFI for a 26megawatt wind energy plant on the East Coast last year. Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson had also said that discussions between the company and Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) on a possible Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) were on the table.

He had explained that the investors had secured their financing for the project, which proposes a US$0.12 fee per kilowatt hour, which is comparative to the US$0.10 per kilowatt hour projected for the now scrapped Amaila Falls Hydropower Project.

Singh recently told Stabroek News that the company is still moving forward and discussions for the PPA are still ongoing. “We are still negotiating and we are trying to finalise,” he said.

He added that while the study was done more than eight years ago and they have since received all of their permits from the relevant authorities, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), GWFI is now waiting for “the final signatures.”

However, Singh explained that they are currently looking at a smaller project because of the proximity of the Hope Canal and the Hope Primary School. “The project must be environmentally safe in terms of noise, shadow flicking and we are now working those out to see the size of the turbines and… how much electricity [the government] will purchase from us,” he said, while pointing out that because of the obstacles a consultant has indicated that the project needs to be scaled down to about 13Mw.

Singh also pointed out that the GPL substation at Coldingen can only accept a small percentage electricity, about 10Mw, so in addition to supplying there, the company will have to transfer the power down directly to Sophia, which is an additional cost.

With the signing of the PPA, Singh said, the project will take approximately nine months to complete. “My only concern is that if we want green energy, certain agencies like GEA [Guyana Energy Agency] have to come together because everybody wants to do it the right way,” he noted.

He indicated that his consultant was also in talks with an international consultant to ensure that the project was effectively and efficiently done.

Opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo had dubbed the proposed purchasing of power from the wind farm as “incestuous,” in the light of Singh’s close links to the Alliance For Change.

“We are hearing through the press that the government is negotiating with this company, no public process. In fact…, on the opening of the AFC office recently… Mr Ramjattan had this to say, ‘I want to single out a personal friend of mine… We were looking for a building and Lloyd said, hey buddy we have to make this thing work. He up-fronted the monies and today we have that building thank you so much Lloyd.’ This is the incestuous relationship… Where is the public tender like we had with Amaila?” Jagdeo had said.

Singh, however, had pointed out that the project had been initiated since Jagdeo was in office.

In a letter to Stabroek News in June, 2014, then Prime Minister Sam Hinds, who had responsibility for energy, had said GWFI had put forward a very attractive proposal that could see Goldwind of China, rated at least third in the world in the establishment of wind farms, setting up a 10×2.5 MW wind farm at Hope Beach at a total cost of about US$42 million.

Goldwind would provide 75% of total financing and take 51% of the equity shares. Hinds did not indicate specifically why a proposed MoU between GWF and the former government was not signed but noted that there were issues that needed to be determined.

“I would like to see an agreement that won’t later create ambiguity to the different sides and so on,” he had said, while hinting that there may be issues with the PPA that would need to be comprehensively worked out before any agreement was signed.

The proposed 2017 budget has seen some tax exemption on green energy equipment, such as on the importation of items for wind and solar energy investments and a one-off tax holiday of two years on corporation tax for companies involved exclusively in wind and solar energy importation.