Here comes the sun – but how?
ISLANDERS disappointed – and there will be some – by an apparent lack of adventure for clean energy in the States’ new electricity strategy will definitely be wondering about the scope for the development of solar power.
At best, it is believed that solar will make up 10% of the island’s electricity mix by 2050, quite a lift from where it is currently.
How this will be realised isn’t clear currently, but it could well change the face of the Guernsey countryside.
E & I president Lindsay de Sausmarez called the solar plans ‘ambitious but realistic’ and said that support for the development of solar is already in place in the island’s planning system.
New planning exemptions, policies which allow redundant greenhouses to be used for energy production, and enabling policies within the Island Development Plan.
Industry players also describe the proposals as ‘realistic and achievable’ but at this point islanders will be left wondering if green fields or redundant glass will soon be accommodating commercial levels of solar activity.
And, indeed, what the deal might be to move towards self-sufficiency with a few roof panels.
It’s a thriving sector in the UK, with plenty of people ready to buy or rent land for solar installations.
The Guernsey solar challenge is going to be balancing high start-up costs and scale.