THE GOVERNMENT will be going to Parliament to seek approval for a US$16 million Government of Jamaica (GoJ) loan guarantee for the construction and establishment of a wind farm in Wigton, Manchester.
Cabinet yesterday approved a Ministry paper on the subject of the guarantee to the National Commercial Bank (NCB), for tabling in the House of Representatives. The loan will go to the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica.
The wind farm, when constructed, is expected to supply some 20 megawatts of power.
Speaking during the weekly post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, Hope Road, St. Andrew. Information Minister Senator Burchell Whiteman said the Minister of Finance and Planning would be taking the guarantee request to the House for approval.
"I am sure you have heard much talk about the cost of energy to the country in terms of oil-based energy," Senator Whiteman told journalists.
"This is an effort to diversify the sources of energy, in particular, using renewable sources."
The total cost of the project is estimated at US$24.2 million and will primarily be funded from the NCB loan proceeds.
The wind farm, which will be operated by PCJ through its wholly- owned subsidiary, Wigton Wind-farm Limited, will also get another US$5 million from Holland, which is referred to in the Ministry paper as the Oret/Millev Export Grant. The PCJ is investing equity of US$3.2 million in the wind farm, to round off the project cost.
Speaking to The Gleaner yesterday, Phillip Paulwell, Minister of Commerce, Science and Technol-ogy noted that the wind farm is currently under construction and should be up and running in the first quarter of this year.
"It's gonna be commissioned in the first week of May," he said.
Though the wind farm has a capacity of 20.7 megawatts, it is expected to provide an average of seven megawatts "given the variability of the wind regime."
Other objectives of the project include a technology transfer to Jamaica, as well as educational and research opportunities for the University of the West Indies, the University of Technology and the Scientific Research Council.
"It will also be environmentally attractive in that it will reduce the emissions which result from the use of oil as the source of energy creation," the Information Minister said.
