Politicians vote to 'explore' offshore wind farm

Impact on the fishing industry was among concerns expressed

Jersey’s States Assembly has voted in principle to explore the opportunities of building a wind farm off the island’s south-west coast.

The States voted for the proposals brought by the environment minister by 40 votes for and one vote against.

The proposals would give the government the green light to do more research into the costs of building a site and the potential challenges and risks, members heard.

Deputy Steve Luce, Minister for the Environment, said: “This proposition does not commit us to building a wind farm or relationships with third parties, other than agreeing the location and capping the size of the development."

The vote was to explore logistics around a possible wind farm

Among those to voice their support was Deputy Kirsten Morel, Minister for Economic Development, who said Jersey’s circumstances meant it had to be “bold not timid”.

He said a wind farm would create high-skilled, high-value jobs that would encourage young people to "stay on the island".

Hilary Jeune, head of Jersey’s Environment Scrutiny Panel, said Jersey had a “legal obligation” to meet its net zero pledges.

She added that the need for "lean, green energy" would increase, while also calling on the government to provide scrutiny with a timeline on how work would progress.

Several politicians expressed concerns but still voted for the proposal so that the government could gather more information.

Voting in favour, Deputy Sir Philip Bailache said he was worried about how much a wind farm would benefit Jersey’s energy security, and requested clarity on whether the cable would be landed in Jersey or elsewhere.

He called on the environment minister to ensure that energy security was a priority and said for him "it’s a make or break issue".

Deputy Catherine Curtis said that, while a wind farm would have a lot of benefits, she would like to see "serious consideration" given to compensating local fishermen, whose work may be affected by the environmental impacts of building a wind farm.

The government will aim to pass a draft law in the autumn and said it would now consider how the leasing of the sea bed might work.