Clarity needed before wind farm decision - report

A report said it would be premature to move to a leasing process for a potential wind farm off Jersey's coast

More information is needed before a proposal linked to an offshore wind farm in Jersey can move forward, the government has said.

In April 2024, the government voted in principle to explore the opportunities of building a wind farm off Jersey's south-west coast.

A report from Jersey's Cabinet Office said it would be premature to open a lease process due to "current market uncertainty, geopolitical risk and unclear access to export markets". But, findings from the report said it could bring "significant economic benefits".

Environment Minister Steve Luce said he was confident the work completed so far would put Jersey in a "strong position to shape its energy future".

"This project is about looking ahead, ensuring that our decisions today create opportunities for the future," Luce said.

"I remain committed to an open, evidence-based approach, as we look to understand more about the opportunities jersey might have to enter global energy markets."

The report said: "A decision should only follow once market conditions and access terms are clearly understood and shown to deliver a net benefit for islanders."

It said a decision could not be taken until the government "clearly understood" market access terms from the UK and France.

The report added despite conversations with UK and French officials, it had not been possible to get into "detailed discussions" and until this happened, it would be too soon to open a lease process.

The Offshore Wind Review Panel said while it was disappointed the leasing process had been delayed, it supported the decision.

Deputy Hilary Jeune, chairwoman of the panel, said: "This is a highly significant proposal for Jersey offering economic opportunity, but it comes with high costs and risks."

'Proceed with caution'

Jersey Electricity's chief executive Chris Ambler said he thought offshore wind was worth investigating.

He said: "We think it's an opportunity worth pursuing but the government is right to be cautious about how it approaches this because it is a very, very costly and not without risk to pursue these opportunities."

He said the challenge for Jersey was building an offshore wind farm of sufficient scale to achieve a price point.

He explained: "The issue for Jersey is we can't take that power in to Jersey itself, we can't absorb that scale of power, so to achieve a price point we have to build at scale and a good portion of that energy has to be exported to either the UK or French markets."

Mr Ambler asked: "Is there a potential for Jersey with its water depths, its wind speeds, can it build a wind farm that is economically viable?"

He said he hoped the government would continue to "proceed with caution".