Dear Editor,
Quite a number of people have expressed their interest in getting a solar system for their houses and many professionals have indicated that Guyana has a fairly decent weather condition for people to live strictly solar. I’ve successfully set up solar systems on a few farms in the Lower Pomeroon River, and around Georgetown. With a minimum of two batteries, and four panels, one house can power its fridge, pump water, use washing machines, and use quite several other electrical appliances during the day. Basically, for someone to go solar, there are three methods available; (1) Grid-tie system, which does not require any battery, but the power company has to install a special meter, which would reverse the meter, sending the excess power attained from the sun to the grid and the power is return when the sun is unavailable, especially at nights. So, your electricity bill will be very low or the utility company has to pay you (not certain how far GPL is with this), and when you have power outages, the system shut down completely. (2) Off-Grid system, which requires batteries, and based on the amount, you get power 24hrs a day without GPL. (3) Hybrid system, which works with both battery and GPL power. Each of these set up uses different types of inverters.
Editor, based on what type of system you using, a battery, the solar panels, charge controllers, and inverters will be needed or there’s an all in one charge controller/inverter available. There are many people offering solar services including supply and installation, with less headache expected, but when you receive the bill, the real headache starts. If you are not cautious, some would give a list of things they would supply, and during the process, change their plans. There’s one person who did business with a company advertising on Facebook and upon completion, the client was informed that there’s a shortage of batteries and a shipment is expected and when it comes in, they will receive the other battery. Now many people dealing with batteries would tell you that you cannot add new batteries to old batteries, because the new battery is reduced to the old battery’s condition/ stage. Meanwhile, the company advertised they have a new shipment of batteries, but the individual is still awaiting for the other battery months now. In addition, many cheap Chinese inverters and charge controllers that are selling, malfunctions. I wrote about this in a previous letter.
Finally, Editor, because the system is so complicated and corrupt in Guyana, I advise most of my clients to purchase their supplies overseas and would provide the links to make their procurement. One of my main concerns is the astronomical price stores are calling for these items. A charge controller sells online for around GY $60,000, but if you go to a local store, you have to pay between $180,000. – $400,000. There are various types of batteries available locally, but some stores still sell the Gel Battery at an extremely high price, even though the technology for that type has proven to be a failure, some not lasting four years and cannot be repaired, so they stop manufacturing them. In a nutshell, because many are not familiar with the solar system, they are either being scared away or forced to pay an astronomical figure for a useless system. There should be a committee set up to assist/advise people who wish to go solar. Government should encourage persons that the system will be easily available if they supply power to the grid, they will be paid for excess power, and stop making it complicated. There are thousands of houses on city outskirts and hinterland regions, without electricity, and despite gov’t’s glorious plans, there’s no indication that these communities will get electricity soon.
Sincerely,
Sahadeo Bates
