Georgetown, August 19, 2022:  The Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), in July 2022, installed a 3.16kWp Solar PV system along with a 19.2kWh Valve-Regulated Lead-Acid (VRLA) Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at the Kamwatta Primary School in Region 1.

The items for the installation at the Kamwatta Primary School were provided by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support Government’s sustainable energy interventions at community/public buildings in the Hinterland.

Picture 1: Solar PV array (3.16kWp) installed on the roof of the Kamwatta Primary School facing the southern end.

Kamwatta is a riverain satellite village of Santa Rosa/Moruca located along the Moruca River, in Region 1 (Barima-Waini). GEA conducted an Energy Needs Assessment earlier in 2022 in the village with the objective of providing energy for the Primary School.

Picture 2: The 19.2kWh VRLA Battery Energy Storage System, Inverter and BOS equipment of the solar PV system

The Guyana Energy Agency, in exercising its mandate, provided support to the Primary School for the transportation and installation of the solar PV and battery energy storage systems.

This initiative will provide a renewable, stable and reliable electricity supply to the Primary School for its daily activities, benefiting approximately three hundred and twenty-eight (328) students and twenty-seven (27) staff, including teachers and ancillary staff. Also, its operation will result in the avoidance of an estimated 2,715 kg of CO2 emissions annually.

The teachers present at the time of the solar PV system’s installation expressed their gratitude for the initiative, stating that it will allow them to better utilise the Primary School’s services and provide better learning opportunities for the students. GEA’s Engineers provided training to two (2) male and two (2) female teachers at the facility on the operation and maintenance of the system.

Picture 3: Teachers from the Kamwatta Primary School who received training on the operation and maintenance of the Solar PV System.