BARBADOS?LIGHT &?POWER (BL&P) has begun negotiations with Sagicor Financial Corporation about land at Lamberts, St Lucy, for its wind farm project.
News of this has come from BL&P managing director Peter Williams who said the land was owned by Barbados Farms Limited, a subsidiary of Sagicor.
In a recent interview with BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY the BL&P boss said the proposed 11 wind turbines will generate about ten megawatts of power.
Williams said that having received approval from the Town Planning Department late last year, the next phase of the project would be securing engineering and geotechnical data.
Originally estimated at $24 million, Williams said updated construction costs were being worked out and he anticipated the project should be up and running “within two years”.
Meanwhile, the BL&P top executive said even though the company had been given the green light to erect wind turbines to supply alternative power, the island had no choice but to seek additional energy sources.
“I think it is too much of a risk to have all your energy for the country based on oil,” Williams noted.
“We are looking at natural gas to try and hedge against that . . . . natural gas is not a 50-year supply but it is probably a 20- to 25-year secure supply of fuel and will help mitigate the energy price fluctuations,” he added.
The BL&P boss said the island might want to start to consolidate its energy security through solar and wind technologies. In this connection he said that Emera, the Canadian company seeking a takeover of Light & Power Holdings, had invested in its own wind farms and was “also pushing this agenda”. (GC)
