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Guernsey has twice the amount of space suitable for a wind farm than Jersey, according to an offshore wind project developer.
At an open event in Guernsey this week, Dyna Energy co-founder Dr Mark Leybourne told islanders that Guernsey has a space roughly 600km² which would be suitable for a wind farm, whilst Jersey has a space suitable in the region of 300km².
The offshore wind expert, who has also been working with Jersey's Government, formed part of panel alongside Deputy Carl Meerveld from the States of Guernsey's offshore wind sub-committee, offshore wind industry pioneer Huub den Rooijen CBE, and Mat Desforges from Guernsey Electricity.
They fielded questions from interested islanders, community stakeholders, and a selection of the island's politicians.
Dr Leybourne explained that the idea is to create a wind farm to Guernsey’s west by leasing the sea bed out, and then sell any excess power generated to markets such as the UK or France.
“Guernsey has got very good natural conditions," he explained.
"It's very windy, it's not too deep. It's very close to big markets that need a lot of power. Both France and the UK are looking to buy a lot of offshore wind over the next 20/30 years, and develop it themselves, but they're also both struggling to meet their targets.
“They need more offshore wind farms. So Guernsey is a really good place to be able to sell its own natural resource to those two markets, because that would help both, and that's an opportunity for export, rather than just about the Guernsey solution.”
CLICK TO ENLARGE: A photorealistic representation of how a wind farm might look off Jersey's coast.
There was also the mention of a potential collaboration with Jersey – although that could still depend on the delicate dance going on between the two islands’ governments over the ferry tender.
Dr Leybourne kicked the event off with a presentation that showed Guernsey has a space roughly 600km² which would be suitable for a wind farm potentially capable of producing 2,000mw of energy.
In comparison, Jersey has a space suitable in the region of 300km² potentially producing 1,000mw, he said.
Dr Leybourne said that the Guernsey output would be considerably higher than is needed locally, so provides a potential windfall.
“That is orders of magnitude bigger than what the island needs," he said. "So we can provide some of that power back to the island to complement everything else that's here. But this is about export, this is about how the island makes revenue money out of it.”
But a wind farm won’t spring up on Guernsey’s horizon overnight.
From deciding to approve any potential infrastructure through to having a fully functioning finished wind farm will take between seven to 13 years, according to the experts – but the States representation on the panel says that timeline isn’t accurate when it comes to a potential wind farm windfall.
Deputy Carl Meerveld was an outspoken member of the panel during the open event.
He is part of the island's offshore wind group – a subgroup of the Policy and Resources Committee, which has been commissioned to look at a utility scale wind farm off the coast of Guernsey.
Pictured: The seabed to the west of Guernsey could be the new home of any potential wind farm, due to the high wind speeds, seabed level and available space.
Deputy Meerveld said: “Something on this scale, does not happen overnight. It will take many years of planning and securing the assets, the ships to install it and the turbines themselves to install, before it's actually up and running.
“That doesn't mean that Guernsey doesn't earn revenue for seven or eight years, certainly in the UK and other places, the developers are paying up front for the exclusive right to do that development.”
He also told Express that, if everything goes to plan, Policy and Resources could bring plans to Guernsey's States Chamber as early as spring next year.
"The offshore wind group is hoping to present a draft policy letter to Policy and Resources in early January," he added.
"So then it will be up to Policy and Resources, as the lead committee who's sponsoring this group, to decide when they want to bring it. But, if it was published late January, it would probably debated in March.”
Although the political timeline may be in the near future, Guernsey should perhaps be keeping an eye on the long-term.
According Dr Leybourne, the Bailiwick has an advantage against larger jurisdictions – but needs to continue making progress.
“We're making a good start," he said.
"I think now, it's important to keep on with that. France is moving ahead quite quickly. They need to do a lot over the next two or three years.
"We will see the area directly to our west, right on our waters, potentially being tended out by the French. It's really important that Guernsey keeps its first mover advantage and gets in ahead of that.”
The room was full to the brim, with interested islanders, private sector representation and members of government.
Questions came quickly, and on a variety of topics, including financials, potential cooperation, and alternative options, such as a Tidal generator.
Several members of the panel referenced how important community engagement is for projects like this – ensuring the public are informed and also listened to.
Pictured: Dr Mark Leybourne presented to hundreds of islanders.
Dr Leybourne was pleased with the turnout, and how engaged the audience were.
“We were surprised to have all the tickets taken for today, so we had a full room," he said.
"We had really good engagement, I think, 40 minutes of questions, and there were some really good questions. People here, I think, either understand the subject or have looked at it before.
“The questions are the right ones to be asking. And there's a good general level of understanding of the offshore wind sector and the opportunities.”
This was something picked up by Deputy Meerveld also.
“I've been pleasantly surprised at how positive the reaction of the average Guernsey person has been," he said.
"There will always be people that say 'I don't want to see that on our horizon under any conditions', but the majority of Guernsey people have actually been saying to me, 'Why haven’t we done it already?'.
"You know, it seems like such a good idea on multiple levels, the fact that we would be making a massive contribution beyond our size, towards reducing global warming, the fact we regenerated significant revenue for our community, all the positives.”
He added: “I would expect that Policy and Resources and the States will be going out and doing a lot more of this, with all the stakeholders, a lot more engagement and raising the profile of this project, once we start actually deciding our direction of travel.”
Power generated through Guernsey’s tidal range has been discussed for years now, with many people citing the island's strong currents and large tidal ranges.
However the experts on the panel all agreed that the technology just isn’t there right now.
Dr Leybourne said it could be of interest in the future, but noted that wind power is what Guernsey should be focussing on for now.
Pictured (from left to right): The panel consisted of Mat Desforges (Guernsey Electricity), Huub den Rooijen CBE (Offshore Wind Expert), Deputy Carl Meerveld, and Dr Mark Leybourne (Dyna Energy).
“Guernsey’s got a big resource for wind. It's got a resource for tidal, so one day, that might come along as well," he said.
“[Wind] is your natural resource that you can export. So that is the option for the island. Everyone wants it, and it is a growing industry that you're in the right place.
"I think for the island, this is its natural resource. This is its opportunity.”
With the power generation taking place on Guernsey's seabed, and exported to larger markets to make some cash for the island, the question still remains on how it would impact prices locally.
Deputy Carl Meerveld was asked if any potential development would lead to more money in the average person's pocket.
“One way or another, I want to see Guernsey residents benefit to the maximum amount," he said.
"So there's numerous ways that Guernsey residents might benefit. It might be by getting cheaper energy directly from the wind farm. It may be they're getting revenue in and then the States saying, 'Actually, we'll take part of that revenue and subsidise electricity costs'.
“It could be that we take the revenue from the wind farm and invest in the full upgrade of the electrical supply system in line with the electricity strategy, which would help reduce prices and increase resilience, etc.
"So the reason you do a project on this scale as a government is for the benefit of the local population. One way or another, I believe we will reap great benefit from this.”
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