Solar power is far cheaper than the US $ 400-800M offshore gas project
Dear Editor,
Former Presidents Jagdeo and Ramotar are not paying attention. Solar power is far cheaper than the US $ 400-800M offshore gas project. I have already made this public without refuting it. Last year I was approached by the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) for a talk in August 2020 after I again publicly advised the PPP / C government to abandon the Amaila Waterfall Project in favor of solar energy.
With client consent, I shared invoices that showed that solar power could also be used here for US $ 2 per installed home watt and ready to receive. Since then, solar energy projects of that cost have been approved by the GEA.
Mr Ramotar said he reminded him of the “Amaila Falls Project” which was frustrated by similar daily attacks by the opposition and regular judges. He said, “All, I repeat, the information was shared with the opposition, who had no suggestions or criticism when they were met by government representatives on more than one occasion.” Yet APNU voted against him in the National Assembly and the investor walked away.
There are several lessons to be drawn from this.
1. He shared all the information, so why can’t the government do the same with the onshore gas project? Don’t they realize that the 400-800M figure betrays 100% uncertainty?
2. There has been no criticism from the opposition. This might mean that the opposition at the time had no problem with all such information, hopefully provided in a timely manner, but only that they could have had other priorities, accessing the public advice of eminent economist Clive Thomas, with whose analysis of the Amaila Waterfall Hydropower Project I agreed.
3. Or the opposition may have heard of the cheaper solar energy, for which I have evidence that Mr Ramotar paid no attention. Because I wrote about it.
4. The breakdowns and alternatives were all out in the public domain but were enthusiastically ignored as if we were dunces and the PPP / C had all the answers. Let Mr Ramotar use his training as an economist to refute the alternative that a less privileged Guyanese pensioner has and still offers.
But a word of caution. Projects like these are rated differently. Engineers have a method of grading projects of any size using dimensional numbers. Do the PPP / C government economists and financial advisers listen that they have such an approach? Dr. Failed Jagdeo with the Skeldon Sugar Factory project. He believed it could give the Chinese company with no such experience the experience to build it cheaper than engineering companies elsewhere, including Guyanese engineering companies. He was out of his depth here. An even more pathetic APNU / AFC government failed to negotiate a proper deal for Exxon to extract oil. And yes, the onshore gas project is currently rated above the government PPP / C rating as economists.
Truly,
Alfred Bhulai