Barbados Onshore Wind Project

The Lamberts Wind Project is a proposed wind farm in the parishes of St. Lucy and St. Peter. It aims to support the goal of the Barbados National Energy Policy of achieving 100% renewable energy by 2030 and could provide energy to power 12,000 to 17,000 homes.

Lamberts has been under development by the Barbados Light and Power Company (BLPC) for almost two decades. Originally the site was conceived as a 10 Megawatt (MW) wind farm; an Environmental Impact Assessment was completed in 2007,  amended in 2010[1] and updated in 2019[2].

[1] The EIA for the Lambert East Wind Farm Generating Station is available here.

[2] The Community Briefing Document of the Updated Technical Assessment of Valued Ecosystem Components of the Lamberts East Wind Farm is available here.

With advances in technology combined with national interest and Government’s ambitious renewable energy targets, a bigger wind farm with a capacity of 30 to 50 MW is being considered including Castle in St. Peter and other contiguous areas.

The Lamberts and Castle areas remain one of the few places in the country that can accommodate a wind farm large enough to support Government’s meeting its renewable energy goals.

Additional studies are being conducted to advance the project. In November 2023, for example, consultants acting on behalf of the National Petroleum Corporation and working in coordination with the advisors to the Ministry of Energy and Business (MEB) installed two temporary meteorological (met) masts in order to collect wind data over at least a 12-month period. This wind measurement campaign is necessary to assess the wind resource in the area so that private sector developers who will bid for the project can optimise the layout of the wind turbines.

While the Barbados Light and Power has historically led the Project, in November 2023, it announced that it would transition the leadership role to the Ministry of Energy who will act as the procuring authority. The BLPC will continue to be a key partner of the Lamberts project.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, is the transaction advisor to MEB and is supporting the Ministry in early-stage development and the implementation of a competitive tender process to select a private developer to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain the wind farm for 20 years, the life cycle of the wind farm. The IFC team is complemented by national and international experts. From April 2024, these consultants will be on-site from time to time to conduct a range of technical, environmental, and social feasibility studies. These studies will define the project area, general layout, and assess environmental and social characteristics to estimate any potential risks and impacts and propose mitigation measures.

The Ministry is eager to scale up Barbados’ wind energy capacity to achieve Government’s renewable energy targets of 100% by 2030. Lamberts remains an essential project for the country to achieve this objective which has the potential to represent 8% to 13% of Barbados’ energy production and installed capacity.

This project will be structured in two phases.

Phase 1 is due diligence. This will include activities such as legal, technical, environmental, and social due diligence (including on-site work) lasting roughly 14 to 16 months. The due diligence will inform the structure and layout of the Lamberts project.

Phase 2 is the bid process. This will commence at the end of Phase 1, and last approximately 6 to 8 months.  Once the Ministry receives and evaluates the bids, the Project will be awarded to the winning bidder.

The winning bidder will negotiate and finalise the financing, construction and operation agreements, which can take up to 10 to 12 months. Then, construction of the project will commence, which is expected to take approximately 12 to 18 months. The winning bidder will develop the final design of the project based on further studies, including technical, environmental, and social assessments to minimise and manage risks and any impacts.

Question 7 in the “Wind Energy” section below describes the typical environmental and social impacts associated with wind farms.  Technical studies will be conducted during the project design, construction, and operation phases to address risks and impacts, taking into account the unique social and environmental conditions of the local area.  The selection of turbines and the detailed project design will be influenced by geological and weather conditions, including consideration of climate change projections.  Set-back areas will be established to avoid to the extent possible the need for relocation of structures and to minimize risks or impacts to individuals associated with noise, shadow flicker, and unlikely events such as blade throw or tower collapse.

Community members in Barbados have raised two issues of concern which are not covered in Question 7 below. These are the potential risk of sink holes and potential risk of increased exposure to electromagnetic fields.

Sinkholes: Could the planned civil works trigger sink holes, potentially damaging people’s houses, or property?

The geotechnical investigations will identify these potential risks as part of the preparatory studies. If the results of these site studies identify that there is a change of a sinkhole/cave/cavity, there will not be any civil works completed in that area.

Electromagnetic exposure: Will the Project increase our exposure to electromagnetic fields?

The turbine generators are located in the nacelle 100 meters above the ground. The generators operate at around 700 volts. Given the elevation of the generators and the generation level, electromagnetic exposure at the ground level is not anticipated. For comparison, transmission cable operate at 24,000 volts.

This Project will generate utility-scale power that is fed into the national grid. All utility-scale power generation (> ~1 MW) is fed into the national grid much like water from different hoses fills up a wading pool. The power generated from this project will come from wind, and it will be more cost-competitive than current generation (majority from fossil fuel generation plants). Yes, it will help to reduce power costs overall but the savings will be limited and impact pricing in the long-term. This is because the Project will only produce ~6% of the island’s power. In other words, the “hose” from Lamberts will only be providing a small amount of “water into the pool”.

Yes, a Community Liaison Officer (CLO) has been assigned and is the main point of contact for local communities and stakeholders with the Project. The CLO is Anderson Rollock. He is a member of the Lamberts community and can be reached via lamberts.wind@barbados.gov.bb.

The support of the community is fundamental for the success of the Project. Aside from community consultations, queries can be sent to: lamberts.wind@barbados.gov.bb.

Wind energy or wind power describes the process by which wind turbines, through a generator, convert the movement of wind into electricity. See https://www.nrel.gov/research/re-wind.html

See image below, which shows the tower, nacelle and blades.

All turbines have three blades, which rotate around a central hub to drive a generator housed in the nacelle. The nacelle is the large housing at the top of the tower. It contains the generator and other important components, such as the gearbox and control equipment.

Blades are made from materials such as fiberglass, carbon fiber, or wood laminates. They are designed to withstand the force of strong winds.

The assembled tower sections sit in a steel-reinforced concrete foundation (see image below).

The foundation ensures the turbine can withstand very strong winds. It is always below ground level and so cannot be seen.

A wind turbine works like a massive fan but in reverse. Instead of using electricity to make wind, wind turbines utilize the wind to generate electricity. The wind turns the turbine’s blades, which spin a shaft connected to a generator to produce electricity.

A wind measurement campaign collects wind data in a location over a certain period (at least 12 months) through sensors installed in a meteorological mast.

A meteorological mast is a free-standing tower which carries measuring instruments with meteorological instruments, such as thermometers and instruments to measure wind speed.

The final design and number of turbines will be decided by the private developer. However, there could be 10 to 15 turbines installed on the site.

Typically, between 80-110m tall up to the nacelle, with blades around 50-70m long, but these dimensions can vary depending on the turbine model. The turbine model will likely be known in later project stages.

See an image below for height comparisons. A 3–5-Megawatt (MW) model is being considered at this stage, although the final model will be chosen by the private developer. For comparison, the tallest building in Bridgetown is the Central Bank of Barbados/Tom Adams Financial Centre which is 50 m tall.

Sound: Wind turbines generate sound, mainly from air flowing over and around the blades. Modern wind turbines are much quieter than older turbines, even those that were considerably smaller. There are rules about the level of sound from a wind project when heard from a nearby house or school. In general, the sound levels are low, consisting mainly of a “whoosh” sound as the turbines rotate (generally at around 15 to 18 revolutions per minute). Visitors to a wind project can often stand under a wind turbine and talk to each other without raising their voices. Construction noise and operational noise will both be considered and mitigated against where possible. For details on sound and other aspects of wind siting, see IFC’s guide: https://www.ifc.org/en/insights-reports/2015/publications-policy-ehs-wind-energy

Shadow flicker: Shadow flicker occurs when the sun passes behind the wind turbine and casts a shadow. As the rotor blades rotate, shadows pass over the same point causing an effect termed shadow flicker. The World Bank Group Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines for Wind Energy set limits for exposure to shadow flicker for potentially sensitive receptors including residential properties, workplaces, schools or healthcare facilities. These limits are based on good international industry practice. The threshold is: the predicted duration of shadow flicker effects experienced at a sensitive receptor does not exceed 30 hours per year and 30 minutes per day on the worst affected day. Shadow flicker can be minimized at certain receptors by the installation of blinds/curtains, shrubs or trees or other screening materials at affected properties. Turbines can also be programmed to automatically shut down at times necessary to avoid exceeding these limits.

Birds, bats and plants (biodiversity): Wind turbines can have an impact on biodiversity. However, with proper siting and pre-construction studies, this impact can be minimized. Experts will study the birds, bats and other native animals and plants at a wind project site to ensure that the Project meets national and international standards.

Farming: Once a wind project is constructed, its turbines, roads and associated buildings typically use 1 to 3% of the land in the total project area. The remaining land (including in between turbines) can continue to be used as before (e.g. for farming). This means that the vast majority of the land will remain available for continued production and will not be a factor in food price increases.

Safety: There have been instances of tower collapse or blade throw, but these are very rare as turbines and towers are designed to withstand strong wind. To further reduce safety risk, set-back safety areas are established around each turbine where housing and other structures cannot be built.  Safety issues may also arise with public access to wind turbines (e.g., unauthorized climbing of the turbine) or to the wind energy facility substation. Any public rights of way located within and close to the wind energy facility site should be identified prior to construction in an effort to establish any measures that may be required to ensure the safety of their users such as preventing access to turbine tower ladders, posting information boards about public safety hazards and emergency contact information and providing fencing and gates.

Other impacts: There can be other impacts from wind farms including visual impacts, increased traffic and possible road closures or adjustments during component transportation (primarily in the construction phase). For details, on typical wind farm impacts and how they can be managed, see IFC’s guide: https://www.ifc.org/en/insights-reports/2015/publications-policy-ehs-wind-energy.