Tag: Guyana

  • Guyana to install 33 MWp of Grid-scale Solar PV + Storage

    Guyana to install 33 MWp of Grid-scale Solar PV + Storage

    Guyana plans to install 33 MWp (megawatt peak) of grid-scale solar PV with battery storage in three of its un-interconnected (isolated) grids.

    The Government of Guyana (GoG), notwithstanding the Country’s evolving oil and gas sector, is committed to the development of a cleaner, greener, and more diversified energy matrix that is based on indigenous resources as outlined in its recently published 2030 Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS). Aside from having the capacity to utilize hydropower, wind, and biomass, Guyana has significant solar PV potential.

    Guyana has a long-term average global horizontal irradiance (GHI) of 5.0-5.9 kWh/m2 (kilowatt-hours per square meter) per day, based on satellite data. To put things in perspective, Germany, which has approximately 6.8% of the world’s installed solar PV capacity at the end of 2021, has very few locations with a GHI above 3.5 kWh/m2/day.

    As such, the GoG has given the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL) the mandate to utilize NORAD funding to execute a national solar photovoltaic (PV) project in alignment with its plans to increase renewable energy penetration and grid stability on the power system. The project will be administered through the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) with GPL being the execution agency

    The program is targeting eight projects totalling 33 MWp of solar PV in three of the country’s grids (Guyana has several un-interconnected grids) as follows:

    • 15 MWp with a 15 MW, 1hr Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in the Linden Isolated Power System (LIS),
    • 8 MWp with an 8MW, 1hr BESS in the Essequibo Coast Isolated Power System (EIS), and
    • 10 MWp in the Demerara-Berbice Interconnected System (DBIS)

    The Linden project

    The Linden project will involve three (3) PV farms, each rated at 5 MWp. The plants are proposed to be located at Block 37 (in the vicinity of Bamia on the Linden Soesdyke Highway), Retrieve on the eastern side of the Demerara River, and Dacoura on the western side of the Demerara River.

    The Block 37 plant will be interconnected to the Amelia’s Ward 13.8 kV feeder, whilst the Dacoura plant will be interconnected to the Wismar 13.8 kV feeder. The Retrieve plant will, however, be interconnected directly to the 13.8 kV Retrieve substation.

    In addition, given the high level of penetration, a total of 15 MW (megawatt), with a minimum duration of 1 hour, of battery energy storage system (BESS) will also be installed and interconnected to the Linden system for stability purposes.

    The Linden project will initially satisfy approximately 38% of the demand with an average annual generation of 20.12 million kWh (kilowatt-hour). This will result in approximately 17,182 tons of CO2 (carbon dioxide) being avoided annually.

    The Essequibo Coast project

    The Essequibo Coast project will involve two (2) PV farms, rated at 4.4 and 3.6 MWp. The plants are to be located at Ondereeming and Lima Sands, respectively.

    The Onderneeming plant will be interconnected to the South 13.8 kV feeder, while the Lima Sands plant will be interconnected to the North 13.8 kV feeder.

    Much like the Linden project, given the high level of penetration, a total of 8 MW (megawatt), with a minimum duration of 1 hour, of BESS will be installed and interconnected to the Essequibo Cost system for stability purposes.

    The Essequibo Coast project will initially satisfy approximately 28% of the demand with an average annual generation of 12.36 million kWh, which will result in approximately 9,390 tons of CO2 being avoided annually.

    The Berbice Project

    The Berbice project will involve three (3) PV farms. A 4 MWp plant at Trafalgar on the west coast of the Berbice; a 2 MWp plant at Prospect on the east coast of the Berbice; and a 4 MWp plant at Hampshire in Corentyne, Berbice.

    The Trafalgar and Prospect farms will interconnect via an express 13.8 kV line to the 13.8 kV busbar at the Onverwagt and Canefield substations respectively. The Hampshire farm will interconnect to the Canfield F3 13.8 kV feeder.

    These plants will be a part of the DBIS and will satisfy a very small portion of the demand of the DBIS. However, the distributed nature of the project will serve to support the distribution network and reduce losses by supplying power closer to the end user.

    The plants will generate approximately 16.14 million kWh annually, which will result in the avoidance of 10,671 tons of CO2 annually.

    The estimated energy production and land requirements for each plant are shown in Table 1 below.

    SitePlant Size (MW)SystemYearly PV Energy
    Production (MWh)    		DC Capacity FactorLand Requirement
    (acres)
    Prospect, East
    Coast Berbice    		3.0DBIS4,8421815
    Hampshire, East
    Coast Berbice    		3.0DBIS4,8421815
    Trafalgar, West
    Coast Berbice    		4.0DBIS6,4591820
    Lima Sands,
    Essequibo Coast    		3.6EIS5,5601818
    Onderneeming, Essequibo Coast4.4EIS6,7951822
    Block 37, Linden5.0LIS6,7071515
    Retrieve, Linden5.0LIS6,7071515
    Decoura, Linden5.0LIS6,7071515
    Table 1

    Project Funding

    All eight projects form part of the Guyana Utility-scale Solar Photovoltaic Program (GUYSOL) and will be funded through the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) Fund. The non-reimbursable funding, which amounts to US$83.3 million is structured as shown in Table2:

    Table 2

    The deadline for commencement of the works under the program is two years, counted from the effectiveness of the Non-reimbursable Financing Agreement, which was signed on 13th September 2022 and made effective as of the 15th June 2022.

  • Electricity from the Wind – Part 1

    Electricity from the Wind – Part 1

    Wind as a source of electric energy in the Caribbean is now becoming commonplace, with utility-scale wind power plants in operation on Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Nevis, Puerto Rico, and Martinique. Barbados, Guyana, and St. Lucia are next in line to add utility-scale wind energy to their energy mix.

    Utility-scale wind power plants consist of several wind turbines, most of which are usually connected to each other in a daisy-chained fashion. The turbine, which is the heart of the plant, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electricity. A modern wind turbine consists of a three-blade rotor that captures the energy from the wind and drives a generator to produce electricity. The rotor and the nacelle, which contained the electric generator and the other necessary parts, are installed at the top of a tower, as shown below. The nacelle and the blades are controlled based on measurements of the wind speed and direction.

    parts of a wind turbine

    The amount of power that a wind turbine can extract from the wind is primarily dependent on the rotor swept area (A) and the wind speed (U). Therefore, to extract maximum energy from the wind, turbine manufacturers have been increasing the rotor diameter of their wind turbines over the decades, as shown below. Likewise, wind farm developers are always scouting for areas across the globe with high and stable wind speed all year round to develop economically competitive wind projects.

    wind turbine growth over the decades

    The actual power output of a wind turbine is limited by physical restrictions and is best illustrated by its power curve. The power curve of a wind turbine shows the electrical power output of the wind turbine versus the wind speed. An example of a power curve is shown below. It represents a Vestas V112-3.3 wind turbine as used in the case of the BMR wind farm in Jamaica. It has a rotor diameter of 112 meters and a rated/nominal power of 3.3 MW.

    V112-3.3 Power Curve

    The operating range of the wind turbine is defined by the cut-in and cut-out wind speeds. At the cut-in wind speed, typically around 3 m/s, the turbine starts to operate and produce electric energy. The cut-out wind speed, 25 m/s in the case of the V112-3.3 turbine, demarcates the upper safe operating wind speed at which point the turbine will stop producing electric energy and shut itself down. The rated wind speed is the wind speed at which the turbine produces its rated power output. The rated power of the V112-3.3 turbine is reached at 13 m/s.

    If this wind turbine was to operate at rated power for one hour it would produce 3.3 MWh (3,300 kWh). This is approximately 150% of the annual energy consumption of the average family home in Jamaica. However, wind turbines don’t always operate at their rated power output, due to the variability of the wind speed. Therefore, a measure known as capacity factor, is typically used to assess the efficiency of a turbine or wind farm. It is defined as the average power output of a wind turbine/farm as a percentage of the rated power of the turbine/wind farm.

    For most wind turbines erected on land, the capacity factor is between 20-40% or expressed in full-load hours it is around 1,800-3,500 hours per annum. The capacity factor for the Wigton and BMR wind farms in Jamaica are shown in the following table along with their rated power and estimated annual energy production based on their capacity factors.

    Wind Farm Capacity (MW)Capacity Factor (%)Annual Energy (MWh)
    Wigton I20.73563,466.20
    Wigton II183352,034.40
    Wigton III243063,072.00
    BMR36.334108,115.92
    Munro34010,512.00
    Total 10232286,688.52
    Capacity Factor for wind farms in Jamaica

    From the total install capacity of 102 MW and the total estimated annual energy of 286,688,52 MWh, an overall capacity factor of 32% is estimated.

    In part 2, we will look at turbine design parameters for specific wind sites.