Alderney gannets to be tracked

Alderney is home to about 16,000 gannets

Conservationists in Alderney are planning to tag 15 gannets over concerns about the effects of renewable energy projects on the birds.

Island leaders believe the sea around Alderney could generate up to 3GW of tidal energy - as much as a nuclear power station.

Alderney Wildlife Trust said not enough was known about how tidal power generation could affect bird life.

It is opening a gannet adoption scheme to help pay for the £300 GPS trackers.

The island is home to about 16,000 gannets.

Holly Marshall, of the trust, said: "We want to find out where our birds are foraging.

"There might be a negative impact when all these new renewable energy developments occur.

"We don't actually have any evidence. That's why we want to find out."

In 2008, Alderney Renewable Energy (ARE) secured a 65-year licence to install tidal turbines in the island's 48 square miles of territorial waters.

ARE has not yet responded to requests for comment but on its website, the company says every proposed energy project will be subject to a range of environmental assessments.

The first tidal turbines are due to be installed by 2019 and ARE claims Alderney could eventually produce enough power for 1.8 million homes.