'Solar garden' proposed in Alderney

Alderney Electricity wants to create a mixed development of solar agriculture and horticulture

Alderney could be generating electricity from the sun by the end of 2025 if new solar plans go ahead, an electricity company has said.

Alderney Electricity (AE) said it wanted to create a "solar garden" - a mixed development of agriculture and horticulture alongside a group of solar panels to create an electrical power output.

The plans were shown to islanders at a public meeting last week, which AE managing director James Lancaster said was met with "a real warmth" and interest.

He said power generation would come first followed by food production in 2026 if the proposal is approved.

"We're now going to take the first steps, so this I think validates our proposals around solar energy so we could have this solar park built and generating by the end of 2025," he said.

"We could be generating high-quality land food produce from the site by the middle of 2026."

'Valued by islanders'

Ed Jessamine, from IPV Flex Gen, which is helping develop the scheme, said it was a chance to "be creative".

"I think it's increasingly important for people to understand we can combine agriculture and energy and optimise both within the same space rather than feeling that we're losing land from agriculture," he said.

"It's very important to us we develop something that is valued by the islanders and the community here."