IFC is considering a $20 million loan to BMR Jamaica Wind Limited to support the development of a 34 MW greenfield wind farm in St Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica. The project site is in Malvern, on a ridge immediately adjacent to JPS’ existing 3 MW Munroe wind farm, which has four operating 750 kW turbines. The project will consist of eleven 3.3 MW Vestas 112 wind turbines (tower height: 86 m, blade diameter: 112m), a substation, an interconnection upgrade at Jamaica Public Services’ (JPS) existing Spur Tree substation, construction of a new approximately 18 km, 69 kV transmission line, and site access roads. There will also be a temporary laydown area established for storage of materials and parts during construction. No workers accommodation camp is required; non-local construction workers and managers will be lodged in local accommodation establishments. BMR aims to start construction in the fourth quarter of 2014 and commence operations in mid-2015. The Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor will be Vestas, the turbine supplier, and Vestas will also have a long-term service contract with BMR covering operations and maintenance. The wind turbines and blades will be brought to Jamaica by ship and transported to site by road by an experienced local transport provider. A transport survey has been completed on the proposed route to enable any necessary upgrades to be made and a dry-run undertaken.

The wind farm will be located on a ~35 ha site owned by Jamaica’s National Land Agency (NLA), of which around 35 ha will be leased directly from NLA(Note: JPS is surrendering these leased parcels and BMR is then leasing the same from NLA). JPS began leasing this portion from NLA as a temporary laydown area during construction of Munroe wind farm. No relocation is required to establish the wind farm; six crop/vegetable growers and one livestock owner will be affected by the development, all of whom use a combined total of 9 ha of land owned by NLA. These farmers have been consulted with via NLA and have agreed to halt cropping activities from summer 2014 until the project is constructed. There is no formal Jamaican requirement for BMR to compensate these land users for disrupted access to their NLA-owned croplands during construction and partial permanent land acquisition for project operations. Nevertheless, BMR will be compensating them in kind for construction-phase livelihood disruption and will sub-lease alternative land for them (from JPS’s adjacent wind farm) in lieu of productive lands permanently acquired by the project for turbine pads.

The planned 69 kV transmission line will be approximately 18 km long and require placement of 155 treated wooden poles sufficient to carry a single conductor. It will be constructed over a 9-10 month period and owned by JPS, the company primarily responsible for power generation, transmission and distribution in Jamaica. The line will have a 22 m wide right of way (RoW) where clearing is required and an 11 m wide RoW along roadways and areas that require minimal clearing. BMR has undertaken an iterative route selection exercise in order to minimize the number of privately held parcels impacted, as well as to minimize the need for bush clearing. This process resulted in a transmission line that requires 38 less pole locations than originally planned, 6.9 ha of land clearing (a 70% reduction) and involves 20 individual landowners (over 80 fewer than initially identified). The vast majority of the route will fall onto lands owned by ALPART, a large alumina mining and processing company, or NLA. Construction of the line will require no relocation of households and minimal, if any, economic displacement. BMR will lease land from ALPART, NLA and the 20 private landholders on a willing-lessor, willing-lessee basis, entering into easement agreements with each of the landholders. These agreements are based on independent land valuation studies commissioned by BMR conducted prior to 1-on-1 negotiations. No dedicated access road is required to construct and maintain the transmission line; instead, access points will be established along the course of the route.

The nearest existing windfarm to the site, excluding the very small Munroe facility, is the 38.7 MW Wigton wind farm which was constructed in 2004 and expanded in 2010. This site is located 17 km away from the BMR site; given the size of the two facilities and this degree of geographic separation, no significant cumulative impacts are foreseen.

IFC’s environmental and social (E&S) review of this project included meetings with BMR Energy LLC management, a visit to the project site in St Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica, in June 2014, and a review of key E&S and technical project documentation. During the site visit, meetings were held with the project’s Kingston-based Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) consultants (Environmental & Engineering Managers), project-affected land users, representatives of the St Elizabeth Parish Council and the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area. Key documentation reviewed included the project EIA (February 2014); supplemental noise, shadow flicker and visual simulation documents undertaken by Saratoga Associates and Hessler Associates (both USA-based consultancies) between January – June 2014; the project transportation route survey report covering transport of large project components to site during construction; the Vestas Health & Safety Plan for the BMR Jamaica Wind project; technical and land acquisition-related documentation pertaining to the transmission line; and key National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) feedback and requirements.

IFC’s review included BMR’s development of E&S management measures, and gaps if any between these measures and IFC requirements. Where necessary, corrective measures intended to close these gaps within a reasonable period of time are summarized in the paragraphs below and in the agreed E&S Action Plan (ESAP) disclosed in this review summary. Through implementation of these management plans and the ESAP, the project is expected to be designed and operated in accordance with applicable IFC Performance Standards.