Like most of the beautiful islands in the Caribbean, Barbados gets 95.4% of its electricity from expensive diesel generation. With rapidly intensifying climate change, the island is facing more droughts and water shortages than ever before. In response, the government of  Barbados has adopted the goal of using 100% renewable energy by 2030.

Bajans do not widely support large solar farms because of the potential loss of the densely populated country’s arable land. With the island’s plentiful trade winds the clear solution for renewable energy is wind turbines, yet only one project has been installed. The 200+-foot-tall machines face problems due to lack of available space on small properties, tight and twisting roads, impacts on views, noise levels, and more.

How can Wind Harvest Help?

Due to their shorter stature and production methods, Wind Harvester turbines present an exciting opportunity for Barbados. Our turbines:

  • take up little land for the large amount of energy they produce.
  • fit on smaller properties and more readily comply with setback easements.
  • can be transported and assembled using trucks that can drive the island’s difficult roads.
  • would not disrupt existing agriculture.

A Long-Term Commitment

In 2014, Wind Harvest hired Dr. Ariana Marshall to assess the island’s potential for our compact Wind Harvesters. Dr. Marshall’s report and the discussions she arranged for us with government and industry leaders triggered Wind Harvest to make a long-term commitment to bringing Wind Harvesters to the island.

With Dr. Marshall’s help, we’ve been collecting data, developing wind speed maps, and lining up owners of properties interested in leasing their land for a Wind Harvester project.  Our analysis shows that we could place 200+ megawatts of Wind Harvesters (4,000 turbines) on the island and produce a great deal of generational wealth for the island with VAWTs that last 70+ years.

Assessing our Impact

Wind Harvest is committed to undergoing a cumulative environmental, cultural, and economic impact analysis of adding our turbines in large numbers on the island. Dr. Marshall leads this effort to identify and prevent or mitigate the possible negative impacts. The first demonstration project on the island will evaluate the following:

Dr. Marshall organized and trained local residents in the science of identifying species of birds and recording their flight patterns, heights above ground, and direction of flight (into, with, and crosswise to the wind). This baseline information will feed into the algorithms used in the 24/7 high-definition motion detection and deterrence technology we will use with each project until we prove that birds there see and avoid our turbines.

This project will help entice tourists to visit St. Lucy Parish, the parish in most need of infrastructure improvements, to see the new technology. Dr. Marshall is planning on turning Wind Harvesters into dynamic art pieces.

One of the goals of these projects is a full economic analysis. We know the local economy would benefit from the installation of hundreds of H-type turbines and that turbine fabrication, assembly and installation on the island will create jobs, but an analysis will be needed to determine the extent of the benefit. In addition, as manufacturing ramps up with increased demand, production in Barbados can be exported to other islands in the Caribbean and elsewhere.

Consumer energy costs are very high compared to wages in Barbados, due to the costs of importing diesel to generate electricity. Retail rices often exceed $0.30, even $0.40 per kWh. To help support new sources of renewable energy, the Bajan government has legislated Feed in Tariff Power Purchase Agreements for $0.17 per kWh.