Patterson says Amaila not the “silver bullet” in the gun

The Amaila Hydropower Project is not the “silver bullet in the gun” says Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson.

Patterson has dispelled the opposition’s claim that the company Norconsult following its review of the Amaila Falls Project has deemed it as the best way forward, in terms of renewable energy. The Government has established a Green Energy Fund with the $80M USD Guyana accrued from the Government of Norway.

According to the minister there are 57 sites and Amaila just happens to be the most advanced. The vision, the minister said is for this fund to be accessed by both government and private entities in the pursuit of Green Energy projects.

According to Patterson this fund was created before the account’s Expiry date, December 31, 2016. He reiterated Government’s plan to pursue a medium sized hydro project.

“The summary of the review document on Amaila states that the only realistic path for Guyana towards an emission free electricity sector is by developing its hydropower potential and the fastest way forward is to maintain AFHP as the first major step for substituting its current oil fired generation.It further states that AFHP was prioritised as the first hydropower plant because it was the only project with a full feasibility study completed; it has a higher plant load factor than the alternatives, a smaller reservoir and a levelised unit cost in the same range as the most attractive alternatives.”