Abandonment of a major photovoltaic project in Guyana: energy autonomy remains the objective

TotalEnergies, which has been leading the project since 2019, justified its withdrawal on Saturday by the content of the revised multi-year energy programming project (PPE) for Guyana for 2023-2028.

The Maya photovoltaic plant, which was to be built near Cayenne (east), combined a solar plant and storage batteries but the gas and oil group threw in the towel.

According to the document consulted by AFP, the revised PPE project nevertheless maintains ambitions in terms of the development of solar energy in Guyana, and energy autonomy of the department, which is home to the Kourou aerospace launch pad.

Currently in the public consultation phase, open from February 10 to May 10, the document, which has already been delayed, should be validated by decree in early 2026, according to the territorial community of Guyana.

Its main objective is to achieve 100% carbon-free electricity production by 2027 for coastal municipalities connected to the distribution network.

After several months of work in the technical committee, the main guidelines of the text were presented to private project leaders on February 10.

During this presentation, which AFP attended, energy companies denounced a lack of consultation and deplored the fact that the text was already largely pre-prepared and only subject to change "marginally," pointed out Arnaud Flament, director of Voltalia Guyane and representative in Guyana of the Syndicat des énergies renouvelables (SER).

Territorial catch-up

Already widely devoted in the last 2016-2023 energy program, the development of photovoltaics as a source of electricity production is once again acclaimed in the new Guyanese energy roadmap 2023-2028, according to the document.

Currently, solar energy provides 114 MW, or a third of the energy produced in Guyana: the next PPE targets 150 MW of solar energy in 2028 and 175 MW in 2033.

This source of production is the one that is expected to experience the greatest increase, with no hydroelectric projects planned and the others remaining marginal, according to the revised PPE project.

On the other hand, the Guyanese authorities, engaged in catching up on infrastructure in the west of the department, are directing projects towards this part of the territory.

Thus, no project for the production of controllable power around Cayenne, located to the east, is included in the PPE 2023-2028. This justifies, according to TotalEnergies, the abandonment of Maya which was to be located 15km from the capital city and provide 20 MW.

"Given the structure of the transport network supplying the Cayenne conurbation, (...), the 20 MW guarantee is not necessary", justifies the territorial community of Guyana (CTG) in the PPE.

Especially since an EDF power plant with a capacity of 120 MW, running on biofuel, is currently being built at Larivot, also near Cayenne.

This 600 million euro project, which was once contested in court, is due to come into service in 2026, to "secure the energy supply" and not "serve as a basis for electricity production for Guyana", assures EDF.

But, for energy companies, the Larivot power station competes with private renewable energy projects in the region.

Strengthening the distribution network

Furthermore, the energy planning envisaged focuses investments more on securing the network, which is fragile due to a weak mesh, than on energy production, according to the document.

Very significant investments will be made to stabilize distribution, in particular by doubling the only 90-volt high-voltage line that supplies the west of the territory and the town of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, which is regularly subject to power cuts.

The commissioning of this new line is planned for 2033.

Two source stations will also be built in the West to "secure the power supply" in this part of Guyana.

In total, by 2033, 5,716 billion euros of investments and operation-maintenance are planned in Guyana, divided between communities and businesses.

With the objective for this French department in South America: to be autonomous in energy production and to ensure that this production is 100% provided by renewable energies, compared to 72% in 2023.