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December 16, 2025
December 16, 2025
In the hinterland regions, solar energy is doing more than lighting homes — it is powering livelihoods, strengthening small businesses, and transforming communities through access to clean, reliable electricity.
From small-scale factories to community freezers, entrepreneurs are benefiting from sustainable energy solutions that allow them to expand operations, improve productivity, and access wider markets.
One such entrepreneur is Greg Thomas of Smith Creek, Region One, who manages a Wiri Wiri pepper factory in his community. The facility has been outfitted with a solar energy system installed through the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), a move that has had a direct impact on both business operations and community development.
“It benefitted the community. We can see that our livelihood has improved. We process these peppers from Smith Creek and we hydrate them in the machine. We grind them and we parcel them in small bottles and we ship it out to Georgetown where we get a better market,” he said.
With consistent solar electricity and internet access through Starlink, Thomas and his workers have also been able to take advantage of online training and virtual meetings, helping them improve management practices and grow their enterprise.
The impact of solar technology is being felt beyond commerce and into essential community services. In Region 10, Lavern Ifill, a chef with the Rockstone School Feeding Programme, describes how solar-powered refrigeration has significantly improved food preparation and storage.
“With the solar fridge, it has helped us to keep the water supplies for the teachers and student and preservatives for cooking, which are preparations. Sometime in the night we have to prepare chicken, we prepare it and store it in the fridge, so the solar fridge is very efficient for us and we are having a great time using it,” she said.
These individual success stories align with the government’s broader push toward renewable energy. Only last week, a 4MWp solar farm was commissioned in Trafalgar, Region Five, under the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030.
The project is expected to generate approximately 6,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually, avoid the use of more than 1.3 million litres of diesel, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by between 4,000 and 5,000 tonnes, and save over $300 million in fuel costs.
It follows the recent commissioning of 3MWp solar farms at Prospect and Hampshire, with additional projects planned, including a 15MW solar farm in Linden. These initiatives form part of a wider government plan to expand solar capacity to 100 megawatts in the short to medium term.
Overall, the government aims to deliver more than 500 megawatts of new generation capacity, with renewable energy positioned as a central pillar of the transition to a more sustainable and resilient energy future.
