Guyana to receive additional $45M from Norway for climate services

Georgetown: Guyana has been approved to receive an additional US$45 million from the Government of Norway for its climate services in maintaining extremely low levels of deforestation while advancing the nation’s landmark Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).
This now brings all three contributions from the Norway-Guyana climate and forest partnership to a total of $115 million USD since the program was announced in 2009.
Money from the allotted $115 million, which is facilitated through the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF), is now beginning to flow to investments identified in Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy, including the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project. This project will deliver a steady source of renewable energy that is affordable, reliable and is envisioned to meet Guyana’s domestic energy needs while removing dependency on fossil fuels. The Government of Guyana projects that Amaila will save consumers and businesses approximately $3.5 billion over the next 20 years, while at the same time reducing carbon emissions and creating jobs. The project is being developed in partnership with Sithe Global, an internationally regarded power developer, the Inter-American Development Bank and the China Development Bank. The Amaila project is expected to begin generating power in 2017.