Solar power ensures better energy security

The main purpose given for building this gas pipeline is to supply the majority of electricity to Guyanese homes and businesses. Energy security is like oxygen, you realize the magnitude of its importance when you don’t have it. Gas pipelines running in the ocean to Europe are now being sabotaged by rogue states. These punctured gas pipelines are releasing methane, at least 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere. Many Europeans are worried about freezing in the winter without gas to keep them warm. We should learn from the mistakes of others not make them ourselves.

We have reasonable energy alternatives compared to a single point of failure gas pipeline. One of the best alternatives is to use solar power. Unlike Europe and North America which have large solar deployments, we sit near the equator — the sweet spot for solar. Solar power can be deployed in a decentralized fashion where there is no single point of failure. This ensures better energy security because it will be hard to take down the entire system quickly.

The government has stated we need to pump as much oil as quickly as possible because the fossil fuel era is coming to an end soon. Hence, it seems illogical that the gas-to-shore project, estimated to cost us at least US$900 million dollars, is being touted over cheaper and longer-lasting renewable alternatives as the primary source of electricity. Europe is worried about possible sabotage of the newly minted Baltic Pipe, a gas pipeline running in the ocean from Norway to Central Europe.

This gas pipeline was supposed to signal Europe’s march towards energy independence from Russia. Now, after the recent punctures of the Nord Stream pipelines, the Europeans are worried that the Baltic Pipe may become an ornament sitting on the ocean floor. The number one goal of the government is to protect its people. Building an offshore gas pipeline to supply the bulk of electricity seems more in the interest of lining the pockets of executives at foreign companies instead of focusing on what is best for the Guyanese people.

It is even more absurd when one considers the economically viable renewable alternatives that will outlast a gas pipeline.