Submerged logs and sun on the lake: in Guyana, the EDF dam hybridizes its production with Voltalia and TotalEnergies

Never in Guyana before. On October 14, in Grand-Santi, a town located in the heart of the forest on the banks of the Maroni River, the thermometer read 39.1 °C. A record since 1934, from the date of the first meteorological observation stations in the region. The previous record was set a few days earlier, on September 25, in Saint-Laurent du Maroni. It was 38.8°C.

The El Nino phenomenon exacerbated by climate change is to blame. This record, which accompanies an unprecedented drought in Guyana, comes after two years of El Nina. These were marked by record rains, until a historic flood in 2022 that disabled two dams, EDF’s Saut Maripa dam near the Brazilian border and the Voltalia-operated Saut Maman Valentin dam in the west near Mana. . Several elected officials from the municipalities of Montsinéry-Tonnegrande and Saint-Laurent du Maroni acknowledge that the event made Guyanese realize that they, too, are concerned about climate change.

French and European laws mandating a 2030 divestment from fossil fuels are often ill-suited to overseas territories, but they have suddenly gained in importance. The EDF Petit-Saut dam already provides 60% of the electricity consumed on the coast, where more than 90% of the population is concentrated. Even better, the department displays an exemplary electricity mix with 72% renewables (ENR), including 4% biomass and 6% photovoltaics.

Electricity and wood with logs fished out of the water

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