Bartica is moving closer to becoming a model green town with a grant of US$300,000 that will be used to install renewable energy at the Three Mile Secondary School.
Speaking to Stabroek News yesterday, Mayor Gifford Marshall explained that the Ministry of the Presidency’s Climate Change Office was able to secure the grant under the Japan-Caribbean Climate Change Partnership (J-CCCP).
“The money will be spent on energy efficiency, of course, and we are targeting the Three Miles Secondary School, especially the dorms where we will install solar panels which should take them off the normal grid and put them on renewable energy,” Marshall said, while adding that the municipality will not be spending the money directly.
Additionally, he related that they will be installing about 12 solar street lights around the town. “The committee has to decide on the exact location and it’s just under a dozen or so because they are a bit expensive,” he said, while pointing out that the third part of spending the funds will go towards installation of LED street lights from One Mile to Four Miles where there are no street lights at present.
“A consultant is supposed to come tomorrow [today] and assess the three parts of the project and sort out the other fine details,” he said.
A fourth part of the project will see six youths trained to maintain the solar panels and other equipment.
“Given our initiatives on making Bartica the model town and advancing the green cause, it’s a big boost for us and of course we are very, very, very happy for this other and others to come,” Marshall said. The grant stipulates that the project must be completed by the end of the year.
In addition to the grant from the J-CCCP, Marshall said, the Ministry of Communities has been supporting them in replacing regular lights with LED ones. “Just under 150 lights should be installed this year and before the year is out we will be working towards replacing all of the lights in all of the government buildings,” he added.
