Engineer, Mr. Earlington “Earl” Barrett, Managing Director of Wigton Windfarm Limited is the recipient of the 2023 CARICOM Energy Achievement Award.
During the opening session of the Eighth Caribbean Sustainable Energy Forum (CSEF) at AC Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica on Tuesday, November 7, Assistant Secretary-General, Economic Integration, Innovation and Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, Mr. Joseph Cox presented the coveted award to Head of Energy at Wigton Windfarm, Ms. Michelle Chin Lenn, who collected on behalf of Mr. Barrett.
According to the citation, Mr. Barrett has over 40 years of experience in his field, and for the past 12 years has been at the helm at Wigton Windfarm, a green energy company which installs and/or provides clean and renewable energy solutions including wind, solar and hydro.
The Company operates one of the largest wind farms in the English-speaking Caribbean, built by the government of Jamaica to help diversify Jamaica’s energy mix in 2004, with the commissioning of a 20.7NW – Wigton phase one.
Under the leadership of Mr Barrett, this was followed by the development of Wigton phase two in 2010 which generates 18NW of power, and Wigton phase three, the further expansion of another 24NW of the facility was officially commissioned into service in June 2016.
“Mr. Barrett pioneered the democratization of the ownership of Wigton Windfarm when Wigton was listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange in March 2019, through an initial public offering, which allowed an estimated 31,000 Jamaicans to contribute to the nation’s energy transition by owning shares in the company. Once listed on the JSE, Wigton became the second energy related company on the market,” Ms. Cherri-Ann Farquharson, Capacity Building and Gender Expert at the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE), revealed to energy stakeholders and policymakers gathered for CSEF 8.
“Mr. Barrett continues to innovate and accelerate the development of the sustainable energy sector in the Caribbean through partnerships with electric mobility providers Flash Motors, the establishment of the Wigton Training Facility which certifies practitioners in solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, bioenergy and of course wind energy”.
This stellar track record of the Wigton Windfarm under Mr. Barrett’s leadership has led to Wigton being chosen as the thematic hub for wind energy for the CCREEE.
