Key Points:

Wigton Energy and SunTerra Energy received permits and financing to build 49.83 MW and 50 MW solar farms in Jamaica, with 20-year licenses to supply power to the national grid by 2027.

These projects support Jamaica’s goal of 50% renewable electricity by 2030; Wigton shifts from wind to solar while SunTerra’s “Midnight Sun” project is backed by Rosh Development.

Wigton is repowering its Rose Hall wind farm to solar and expanding through solar leasing and electric vehicle investments via increased stake in Flash Holdings.

Wigton Energy Limited and SunTerra Energy Jamaica Limited are one step closer to bringing their respective solar energy projects online as they receive regulatory approval and project financing.

Both firms received approval from the National Environmental & Planning Agency (NEPA) on July 15 for their environmental permits to begin work on the properties which will house their solar farms. Wigton will clear six hectares (14.83 acres) of land before it begins construction of its solar farm in Lionel Town, Clarendon. SunTerra received approval for the construction of a 69 kV (kilovolt) substation and the construction and operation of the solar farm in Duncan’s, Trelawny.

Wigton and SunTerra were awarded the right to add up to 100 MW (megawatts) of solar energy to the national grid by the Generation Procurement Entity (GPE) in November 2024. Wigton will be developing a 49.83 MW solar facility while SunTerra will develop a 50 MW solar facility. According to the Government of Jamaica’s (GOJ) Annual Report (Form 18-K) to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Wigton and SunTerra were awarded generational licences by the Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport (MSETT) in February 2025 for their solar projects. A generational license is a legal instrument that gives the licensee the right to generate and supply electricity to the Jamaican national grid for 20 years after commercial operations begin. Independent power producers (IPPs) sign power purchase agreements (PPAs) with the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) to sell energy to the grid.

The GOJ’s annual report highlighted that renewable energy resources contributed 11 per cent of the country’s electricity needs in 2024. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) was responsible for the largest share of the country’s electricity mix at 59 per cent with petroleum products responsible for 30 per cent.

Four renewable energy focused IPPs which include Wigton have an installed capacity of 135.6 MW that generate 338 GWh (gigawatt hours) per year and save 259,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) each year.

The government previously indicated that it wanted to achieve 50 per cent renewable energy contribution by 2030. However, the previously mentioned 168 MW request for proposal tender has not been announced yet. Thus, Wigton and SunTerra’s will represent the first major RFP development in eight years. Eight Rivers Energy Company Limited (EREC) Limited won the preferred bid in May 2016 to develop its Paradise Park solar facility in Westmoreland. EREC was bought by InterEnergy Group in April for US$18 million.

SunTerra has publicly announced that its project will be called Midnight Sun which will be financed by Rosh Development. However, Wigton Energy (formerly Wigton Windfarm Limited) has not given any additional details on its 49.83 MW solar park. Queries to Chief Executive Officer Gary Barrow were left unanswered.

Also, Wigton has delayed the publication of its annual general meeting notice with the company indicating that the notice will be circulated to shareholders separately. AGM notices are usually included in the annual reports of publicly listed companies. Wigton held its last AGM in October 2024.

A delayed AGM notice could possibly indicate that special resolutions might be included, and the company’s board of directors needs additional time to deliberate on the matter.

Wigton indicated in its directors’ report that Allison Philbert and Omar Azan will be up for re-election as directors at the AGM with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) expressing their willingness to continue as the company’s external auditors. Meg Georgia Gibson Henlin, KC has expressed her intention to not seek re-election as a director of the company and will retire at the AGM. She was appointed in January 2019 and would represent the fourth director to leave the board in the last year after Dennis Chung, Wayne McKenzie and Nigel Davy.

Apart from the recent GPE award, Wigton is currently working to repower Wigton phase I which is set to be powered by solar energy compared to wind energy. Wigton phase I is located in Rose Hall, Manchester with 23 turbines with an installed capacity of 20.7 MW. The original licence for this phase expired in April 2024, but the company received a new electricity licence in April 2023.

“These developments mark a pivotal shift in our growth strategy as we begin to expand operations beyond wind into utility-scale solar energy generation. Our focus will be on securing the necessary financing, completing detailed engineering and procurement planning, and initiating pre-construction activities for both solar projects. We will also engage with key stakeholders and regulatory bodies to ensure timely approvals,” stated the message from Chairman Dan Theoc and CEO Barrow in the 2025 annual report.

Wigton rebranded to its current name in early 2024, but formalised the name change in November 2024. That rebrand was based on the company’s current focus to expand its image beyond its main business of being a wind farm. Wigton currently engages in the commercial and industrial energy space in two segments. It offers engineering, procurement and construction turnkey solutions through its joint venture with Innovative Energy Company DBA IEC SPEI Limited, a subsidiary of Innovative Energy Group Limited. The company also offers a solar leasing to companies with Carreras Limited and Jamaica Inn Limited being its first two customers.

The company has also increased its stake in Flash Holdings Limited (FHL) from 21 per cent to 51 per cent on June 19 as part of a strategic arrangement to support FHL’s subsidiary Flash Motors Company Limited (FMCL). However, this stake could be reduced to 30 per cent based on certain performance targets of FMCL up to March 2028. In the interim, FHL will be accounted for as a subsidiary rather than as an associate company.

FMCL is a company formed to distribute and sell electric vehicles in Jamaica. FMCL originally brought the BYD to Jamaica in partnership with the Stewart’s Automotive Group before it switched to ATL Automotive in June 2023. FMCL has since partnered with the Farizon New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group and the Geely Auto Group which has brands such as Riddara, Galaxy, and Zeekr. FMCL accessed a US$750,000 electromobility working capital loan from IDB Invest, an arm of the Inter-American Investment Corporation.