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A local farm has signed a 25-year deal to help deliver sustainable solar power for the island.
Woodside Farms' partnership with Jersey Electricity will see it operate the largest number of photo-voltaic panels in the Channel Islands on a warehouse roof at the Trinity farm, beginning in October.
The energy will be pumped directly into the grid so that all islanders can have a share in locally-sourced sustainable energy.
Charlie Gallichan, owner of Woodside Farm said: "I am delighted to partner Jersey Electricity in this venture. This long-term lease arrangement shows real commitment by Jersey Electricity to local renewables and support for local business. Renewable energy projects like this are some of the key elements that will help to ensure the future sustainability of modern farming businesses not only by minimising our environmental impact but also by reducing our cost of production, which will help to keep farming financially viable into the future."
Pictured: Jersey Electricity plan to have the largest solar array in the Channel Islands up and running by October
This is Jersey Electricity’s third solar array and will generate over double the amount of energy of the first two put together.
Work is set to begin early in September on the 1,311sqm array that will reportedly power 37 Jersey homes for a year, as opposed to the 11 homes that the La Colette array powers.
The management, installation and commission of these panels, which are manufactured by REC Solar, will fall to local solar contractor SunWorks, which also installed the previous two arrays.
Pictured: Jersey Electricity will rely on local company SunWorks to install the panels
Jersey Electricity CEO Chris Ambler said: "We are delighted to cement this 25-year partnership with Woodside Farm for the local generation of solar power. Jersey is on a journey to a carbon-neutral future and local solar PV sits comfortably alongside our existing decarbonised imported power, a third of which is already from certified renewable hydro-electric sources.
"Working in partnership with more local companies, we believe solar power can have an increasing longer-term role in our energy system."
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