Work moving apace on solar energy project to meet yearend commissioning

Work is moving apace on the energy project at the CARICOM Secretariat and Deputy Secretary-General, Ambassador Manorma Soeknandan, who has oversight of the project, is eagerly anticipating its commissioning at yearend.

Work on the project was suspended shortly after it was launched in January last year as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Construction restarted earlier this year on the 400-kw solar photovoltaic power generation system that is funded by a US$17.8M grant agreement between the Governments of Guyana and Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

When the project is up and running, the Secretariat headquarters building is expected to get all of its energy from solar-based sources on a majority of its operating days. Overall, the Secretariat is expected to have a net-zero energy balance on the basis of the fact that there would be available excess energy, that could, for example, provide power to the national grid, during its off-peak operations.

Mounting more than 1 500 solar panels, setting up servers and batteries, building a car port and allotting space for educational/recreational activities, are some of the physical transformations occurring on the foreground of the CARICOM Secretariat. In the building, panels and other equipment will be installed. CARICOM Secretariat technical and information technology staff members will also be trained in the use of the equipment and system.

We spoke with Amb. Soeknandan on the developments.

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Source: CARICOM TODAY