By Rory Rostant Thursday, November 5 2009

In Trinidad and Tobago where gas is king and where companies are weaned on energy profits, renewable energy is not on the cards at all.

But for former Petrotrin chairman Donald Baldeosingh who now heads Enman Services Limited, an engineering and project development firm based in Point Lisas, the use of renewable energy is big business.

Last week, the governments of Guyana and Brazil cleared the way for the Turtruba Hydropower Project to proceed, a project conceptualised by Enman and which has the potential to stimulate infrastructural development in Guyana.

According to Baldeosingh, the project will cost about US$2 billion. “It is a huge project,” he said in an interview last week. The project will be completed in five to six years.

“It is the biggest engineering project ever undertaken in this region,” he said.

On September 17, 2009, Guyana and Brazil presidents, Bharath Jagdeo and Lula Da Silva met at a bridge opening in the border town of Lethem, Guyana, and announced their support of infrastructure development that would provide much-needed energy and transport support to Guyana and north-western Brazil.

For Enman however, this project is the proverbial feather in its cap.

In July, 2001 the company entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)with the Guyana government which gave it the exclusive right after completion of a final feasibility study to apply for a licence to develop Turtruba, an 800-megawatt hydropower development on the middle Mazaruni River in Guyana..

Putting this into context, that is about 75 percent of the power demand of TT, he said.

“It would be a significant source of environmentally sustainable and clean climate electricity for the two countries,” he of Guyana and Brazil and explained that a fibre optic cable is included as part of the project.

This MOU provided a two-year period of exclusivity for Enman to fully evaluate the technical, financial, economic, social and environmental potential of developing the project.

Wire reports say the project would be the most significant investment in Guyana in the country’s history and once realised would dramatically improve Guyana’s economic circumstances.

“The project promises to be a catalyst for social and economic development for the entire region,” one press statement said in its analysis.

“Since bringing forward this project and signing our MOU with the Guyanese government, we have been working to bring together a strong development team for this important initiative,” said Baldeosingh, noting that with the support of both governments, the company was now looking to work with the private sector of both countries to make it happen.

For Baldeosingh and Enman, it mean that he will get the chance to lead a consortium of major international companies in the development of the US$2 billion hydroelectric power plant. “It is the biggest engineering project being undertaken in the region,” he said.

According to Baldeosingh, the Turtruba project was conceptualised after a review of the findings of a 1976 study, funded by the UN, to identify the most viable hydroelectric sites in Guyana. He explained that the Takwari Falls was first considered but was rejected because of environmental sensitivities. On September 3, 2001 an amendment to the MOU was made to allow for the development to take place at Turtruba which offered a larger power plant, lower construction cost, easier access and facilitated local employment.

Enman, he said, has since done a number of studies to update and optimnise the previous work and, in particular address environmental issues including the impact of people’s lives in the area.

About 5,000 people will be employed during the project, said Baldeosingh. Some of the activities which are expected to emerge from this project include construction of a dam, hydroelectric power generation, construction of transmission lines, development and maintenance of associated utilities and housing settlements, and the actual operation of the power plant.

Baldeosingh explained that the proposed power plant is expected to spur industrial activity in Guyana. Additionally, direct sale of power to Brazil is being explored, said Baldeosingh, noting that this could open up investment opportunities for both countries.

For Guyana, the Enman project means that it could develop its hydro-power potential, said Baldeosingh noting that upon completion the country now has to import most of its energy needs. As in 2001, Baldeosingh still believes that the project presents a great opportunity for energy integration in the Americas and for sustainable economic development and “for a great movement of technology, capital and other capabilities from Trinidad and Tobago into Guyana.”

Last week, he described the venture as “enormous” given its importance in terms of the infrastructural, economic and social development of Guyana and reiterated his company’s intention to include Guyana’s private sector in the development of the programme.

Unlike a lot of companies in Trinidad, Enman’s fortunes is not totally wedded to the gas business. Enman projects have included NGC’s dataflow project, electrical installation for Biche government secondary school, design of electrical and instrumentation (E&I) workshop for Farmland MissChem Limited (FMCL) as well as electrical, instrumentation and draughting services for Petrotrin’s refinery

Hydroelectric power, he said, is a renewable resource which offers an environmentally sound and eco-friendly solution to the growing demands on the world’s power supply. It reduces the dependency on fossil fuels which are linked to greenhouse gases that lead to global warming, he said.

He said the project could benefit industries from eco-tourism to bauxite and gold. He expects that the availability and cost effectiveness of hydro electric power would lead to the mushrooming of a number of industries which have previously been hampered by the escalating cost and unreliability of the fossil fuelled power sector.

Infrastructural development will bring much needed energy and transport support for both Guyana and the northwestern region of Brazil, analysts said.

However, Baldeosingh wants to take advantage of the skills and resources available in Trinidad to develop energy projects in larger countries like Guyana.

Enman, said Baldeosingh has been discussing financing with major multilateral lending agencies including the Inter-American Development Bank. Republic Bank is said to one local bank interested in the project..

He said he was excited about the project because Guyana has the potential to attract investors.

In his view, the country could become a net exporter of energy because when it comes on stream it will exceed the energy demand of the Guyana market eight times. “The country could export energy to not only Brazil but to the Caribbean,” he said.

“But this is essentially stranded energy, so you have create some kind of market demand for it,” Baldeosingh said.

Approximately 75 percent of this power could be exported south to Boa Vista in Brazil or north to the Caribbean island chain.. At the moment, 10- 15 percent will be reserved for Guyana to be could be used in its own power grid or industrial development..

As it currently stands, the project includes a 580 km high voltage transmission line along the new highway from the power plant site on the Mazaruni river to Boa Vista in Brazil’s northern Roraima state. The fibre optic cable is expected to bring telecommunications to that region , he said.



Px - In this file phot, Enman CEO Donald Baldeosingh presents plans of the project former President Janet Jagan as another official look on.