Wigton Gearing to Double Generating Capacity

Expansion work to almost double wind generating capacity at Wigton Wind Farm, Manchester, is now far advanced, following ground breaking two months ago.
By November, nine new 2 megawatt Vestas V80 wind turbines will come into operation. Wigton will also open a Resource Centre, to provide technical information on wind energy generation.
The expansions will double Wigton Windfarm’s renewable energy generation capacity. The new turbines will increase the number of turbines on the wind farm to 32, and the amount of energy produced by Wigton to an annual average of 106.7 Gigawatt hours, up from 51.6 Gigawatt hours.
Construction of the expanded operating facilities began in April, following the arrival of the turbines at Port Esquivel. Since then, foundations have been excavated, civil works foundations poured and central building construction started.
Wigton has also hosted a group of university students, who toured the construction site and observed technical operations.
The new turbines are now being transported by road, with special heavy duty vehicles, from Port Esquivel to Wigton. This requires special safety arrangements and pilot vehicles, as transportation is being done at night, due to the size and technicalities of the process.
Wigton Windfarm is Jamaica’s first commercial windfarm and was originally commissioned in 2004.
Today, electricity generation from wind is the fastest growing energy sector worldwide, as countries like Jamaica hasten to find cheaper, localised and renewable sources of energy, as against expensive fossil fuel sources.
Wigton Windfarm’s expansion will bring Jamaica closer to its renewable energy target of 11 per cent by 2012, as stated in the National Energy Policy.
Wigton Windfarm Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), and is driven by its objective to develop and operate windfarms and similar renewable energy systems in Jamaica, to generate energy for sale to the JPS grid for commercial and residential use.
Wigton is also committed to reducing Jamaica’s dependence on costly and limited fossil fuels, while protecting human and environmental health with clean renewable energy.