Guyana rolls out another multi-million dollar solar farm

Last Updated on Sunday, 2 November 2025, 22:05 by Denis Chabrol

Guyana is continuing the buildout of utility scale solar farms in several areas of the country under a project whose cost ranges from US$60.4 million to US$83 million, officials said on Sunday.

Prime Minister Mark Phillips told the commissioning ceremony for a 5 megawatts peak (MWp) solar farm at Onderneeming, Essequibo Coast that that facility would produce approximately 7,700 megawatt hours (MWh) per year, save an estimated GY$447 million in fossil fuel costs and reduce 6,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

“The facility marks a historic expansion of power capacity on the Essequibo Coast, increasing the region’s generation from 16 MW to approximately 22.5 MW. This significant boost ensures greater reliability for households, schools, health facilities and businesses throughout the region,” the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement.

Mr Phillips added that, along with the Onderneeming facility, the 3 MW solar farm at Charity, now under construction, will benefit from a combined output of 12,300 MWh, meeting more than 20 percent of its projected 2026 energy demand.

That solar photovoltaic (PV) farm was developed at a cost of US$10.4 million with financing from revenues earned under the first phase of the Guyana–Norway partnership for forest conservation called the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).

Public Utilities minister Deodat Indar said the project was funded through revenues earned under the first phase of the LCDS in 2009, when then-President Bharrat Jagdeo secured a US$250 million agreement with Norway for the REDD+ Investment Fund.

Notably, the disbursement of US$80 million had been stalled after the previous administration altered the LCDS policy, he said.

The government said the wider Guyana Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaic (Guysol) programme, being implemented by the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) and administered by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), is valued at US$83.8 million, and will deliver 33 MW of solar capacity and 34 MWh of battery storage across regions Two, Five, Six and Ten.

A similar project under construction at Charity will supply an additional 3 MW to Region Two, while solar farms at Trafalgar, Hampshire, and Prospect in Berbice will deliver a further 10 MW. Additionally, contract execution has started for a 15 MW renewable energy development at Linden, Region Ten.

While the financing envelope was approximately US$85 million, Mr Indar said bids came in competitive with the final costs being US$37.8 million for Berbice and Essequibo, and US$22.6 million for Linden.

A 1.5 MW solar farm, which was initially conceptualised as a 5 MW facility under the previous APNU+AFC administration, has already been constructed by the PPPC-led administration.