5 months ago
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Wigton Energy has commenced the development of solar energy facilities with combined capacity of 70 megawatts at its main base at Rose Hill, Manchester, as it strives for more resilient revenue.
Its top line income was blown off course in the year ending March 2025, amid ageing of nearly a third of its wind turbines, but the company is looking towards the sun to sustain itself in the future.
The level of investments being made has not been disclosed by the energy company that’s in the process of reducing its exposure to wind and creating a more diverse operation.
“During the year, we commenced development of our solar PV projects totalling 70MW and ramped up our focus on the targeted commercial and industrial segment. To support these objectives and our future growth focus, we invested in new staff, enhanced our internal capabilities,” said Wigton Energy CEO Gary Barrow.
“Wigton continues to make strong progress” on the projects, he said, but provided no specifics.
The 70MW development is a combination of Wigton’s winning bid from the Government Procurement Entity to develop 50MW of solar power for supply to the national grid, while the other 20MW is replacement for power produced by aged-out wind turbines that were first commissioned in 2004.
Commercial wind turbines typically operate within a wind speed range. They need a minimum wind speed of around seven to nine miles per hour (11-14 kilometres per hour) generally to start turning and generating electricity.
Turbines reach maximum efficiency and output at around 18-27 mph (29-43 km/h). However, they must be shut down at higher wind speeds of around 50-55 mph to prevent damage.
For the financial year ended March 2025, Wigton Energy experienced a 10 per cent dip in yearly revenue, from $2.06 billion to $1.85 billion, which Barrow said was occasioned by reduced production, mainly caused by downtime following the passage of Hurricane Beryl in July 2024.
The dip in sales was “offset by a significant increase in other income, which was driven by the Hurricane Beryl insurance claim, net of insurance deductibles,” Barrow told the Financial Gleaner.
“Notwithstanding the impact of the hurricane and our investment in growth, our net profit for 2025 was below the exceptional year 2024, but remained in line with that of 2023.”
Yearly profit amounted to $303 million, while profit in FY2024 was $839 million, inclusive of tax credits, and $481 million without the tax credits.
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