Guyana could have its first wind farm generating seven megawatts (MW) of power in two years time, if a feasibility study being undertaken by a Curacao-based company sees good results.

Prime Minister Sam Hinds signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) yesterday with Delta Caribbean NV for a two-year period of exclusivity. Managing director of the company, Roy Kolader, signed on Delta's behalf.

Wind measurements would be done at Hope Beach, East Coast Demerara, and some 40 kilometres away in an easterly direction along the coast. Delta would be responsible for financing the study, which is expected to cost around US$100,000.

Kolader explained that Delta was in the business of developing and managing wind energy projects.

The company recently transferred a wind farm it constructed at Curacao with an installed capacity of nine MW to the owners.

The Prime Minister said Guyana's energy policy underscored government's plan to encourage and foster the development of renewable energy technologies. The signing of the MOU was a key step in diversifying the energy sources in the country, he said.

Noting that renewable energy projects had the value of reducing carbon dioxide and other harmful emissions as well as Guyana's dependence on fossil fuel, he added that the electricity generated from the farm would be made available to the national grid.

Hinds noted that large wind farms had been set up around the world and this type of energy was being used in Guyana on a small scale. He pointed out that villages in remote areas in the interior traditionally used wind energy and government was seeking to expand its availability.

Head of the Guyana Energy Authority, Joseph O'Lall, noted that there was already solar and hydropower energy established in the country, but large-scale wind energy was a new area. He said that wind energy seemed a viable option and a number of steps had been made to have this source established here.

According to Delta, scientific experiments showed that wind energy was the most reliable and valuable substitute of conventional energy sources.

Delta is a regional company with knowledge and experience in the field of developing wind energy projects. The company concentrates on all aspects of wind energy projects, from the initial idea throughout its operational management. It also furnishes financing for the projects through an acquired network of financial institutions.

The company has a 15-year contractual management and maintenance arrangement with a wind farm established in Curacao in 2000.

The local distribution company purchases power at an agreed price as a supplement to the energy requirements of the island.

Delta is now concentrating on the development of wind energy projects in the entire Caribbean Basin.