Time to act over wind power
Plans for a wind farm off Jersey continue apace and Guernsey remains very much in the other island’s thoughts, despite repeated references to the critical vibes which emerged in September’s electricity strategy debate when someone suggested the two islands could work more closely together on matters electric.
However we need to understand what this so-called ‘collaboration’ might entail. On the basis it appears that Jersey doesn’t need government funding – it’s going out to market for commercial developers to take the opportunity it’s offering – it seems that it will be likely that Guernsey would merely be expressing an interest in being a customer for the power generated by the project.
That is not necessarily a bad thing. Another source of power for us, and less reliance on France and our own power station. But where will that leave considerations for Guernsey’s own wind farm, in our own waters?
We’re talking the talk about offshore wind, some politicians more than others, but whether we are anywhere close to being able to move forward as Jersey appears to be doing, in anything approaching a similar time frame, now seems unlikely.
And with Alderney looking at moves for onshore wind too, the pressure is mounting on Guernsey to take some big decisions pretty soon about our appetite for wind power – a much bigger issue than simply buying power from Jersey.