Wind turbines arrive in Jamaica

The wind turbines arrived aboard the ship, BBC Mississippi, on April 4. Minister of Energy and Mining, James Robertson, was on hand to witness the arrival.

Robertson broke ground on March 17 for the new US$50 million Wigton Wind energy project (Project Two), located in Rose Hill, Manchester. Installation of the wind turbines will begin in May.

Wigton Wind farm Limited is a subsidiary of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ). It has successfully generated and delivered approximately 306 GWh of electricity to the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo) grid, using wind power.

The current project, Wigton I, is registered by the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change, and has been trading carbon credits under an Emissions Reduction Purchase Agreement with the Dutch Government since 2005.

The new wind energy project will maximise wind potential and assist in meeting the renewable energy policy target of 11 per cent by 2012, as well as offer health and environmental benefits from operating clean, renewable energy facilities, as against traditional power plants.

Wigton II is 100 percent financed from the PetroCaribe Fund, and commissioning of the plant is scheduled to commence in July 2010.

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