By Anthony Morgan

Renewable energy company, Wigton Windfarm, is considering going into farming farming (as opposed to wind farming) to boost its core revenue stream.

The agricultural farm would not just use the land between the wind towers in Manchester, but gain a competitive advantage by utilizing energy generated from the windfarm to irrigate and power the packaging of crops.

The move, however, requires further study and approval from its Board of Directors.

Earl Barrett
Managing Director, Wigton Windfarm

“We don’t want to throw anything under the bus until we have explored it properly,” said managing director Earl Barrett in an interview with Kalilah Reynolds on Taking Stock recently.

Crops under consideration are castor bean, which produces castor oil, in addition to food crops such as bananas.  Barrett added that mechanized farming could serve many positives for the company and country.

“Any modern farm would have to be mechanized and the equipment requires fuel,” he said. “Renewable energy would also be used for pumping water for irrigation and when those crops are to be reaped, you need energy to clean, package and store them, so renewable energy would be part of what would go into that.”

Farming could also potentially help the country reduce its high import bill, while providing more food for the population, he reasoned.

Based on Wigton’s 2020 annual report, net profit for the financial year was J$662.75 million (US$4.5 million) up 34% from J$493.59 million (US$3.4 million) the previous year.

Barrett said the outturn was a result of the company containing costs while keeping the plant at a high level of availability; however, he reasoned that they have “no time” to settle, especially with shareholders waiting for dividends.

The company operates three plants developed in phases totaling 62.7 megawatts (MW). Phase 1 generates 20.7 MW of power installed in 2004, phase 2 at 18 MW in 2010 and phase 3 at 24 MW in 2016. The company awaits word from the Government on new renewable projects, in order to seek approval to build phase 4.

At the company’s recent annual general meeting, Mr. Barrett said Wigton would likely return to the equities market in the coming months to raise funds for its expansion plans both locally and in the region.

He said the company will hire more skilled staff if needed to ensure a smooth transition when they add new projects.  He said that while a number of plans had to be put on hold due to the pandemic, growth remains at the front of all its plans.