The Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) yesterday signed the grant for a project to steer local companies towards energy efficiency and conservation in their operations.
The US$200,000 Energy Efficiency Project is being funded jointly by the IDB and the GMSA, in a 30%:70% ratio, respectively, of the total project cost.
The 15-month project is divided into two phases: the first phase is an energy efficiency rating study that would establish a data baseline showing consumption, utilisation and cost patterns for various equipment and accessories across specific sub-sectors; and the second phase would see an energy audit study involving live in-plant measurements and monitoring of electrical assets.
Five local companies have been identified to serve as pilots for the project, from which the findings will serve as baselines for the implementation of energy efficient methodologies for other enterprises.
At the signing ceremony yesterday, IDB country representative Sophie Makonnen said that the project is an important milestone for the IDB and Guyana.
The main idea behind the project is to assist local companies in the manufacturing and services sectors to make the most efficient use of their energy applications whiles at the same time employing the most effective methods of energy conservation.
This objective will be achieved through energy efficient applications such as energy conservation, energy consumption and alternative energy sources, in accordance with the regulatory framework of the National Energy Policy. It also hopes to address energy efficiency application in the short term by focusing on lighting equipment and accessories, heating and cooling equipment, motorised drives and other major energy consuming assets.
Meanwhile, GMSA President Clinton Williams noted that the project has been in the making for a long time. He noted that the question of energy availability, reliability and costs ranks among the constraints preventing any desirable expansion and growth in the manufacturing sector. “The intention here is to institute methods that will optimise utilisation of the energy source, thus creating standards and practices which can ultimately serve as a basis for continued reduction in losses and concomitantly reduced costs to both the consumer and the provider,” Williams said of the project’s benefits.
