The ability of Enertime to work overseas and cope with very diverse local situations as well as its ability to think ahead of potential risks are a guarantee of efficient project development in a challenging environment. This ability was further demonstrated in a study done by Enertime for POWEO in French Guyana. With the potential of power production from renewable sources in French Guyana, POWEO decided to invest into a biomass power plant in the Balata Region, close to Cayenne, the administrative center, and chose Enertime to carry out the preliminary studies and define the project more precisely.
For this comprehensive mission, Enertime carried out a detailed field study that included meeting with local authorities and stakeholders in order to be able to recommend the best solution in terms of location, connection to the grid and technical solutions for the Plant.
Production of power and sourcing of biomass in French Guyana are specific to this region and distinct from what can be found in metropolitan France. A strong demographic growth has triggered an increasing need for power or electricity in French Guyana. Most of this electricity is produced by diesel engines in the territory.
Benefiting from a favorable climate, photovoltaic solar can be a source of productive energy solutions in French Guyana. However, it is an intermittent source that is limited to only a maximum of 30% of power production injected into the grid. In French Guyana, contrary to metropolitan France, power plant projects are not submitted to tenders and are not eligible for subsidized feed-in tariffs. Despite this, power production cost using photovoltaic solar power will nevertheless be much lower than the cost using diesel engines.
The future 5 MW power plant will be fed by 60.000 tons of woodchips a year, sourced from local forests. The fuel wood harvest will respect forest sustainable development criteria.
