One of the organisations involved in the long running negotiations over who might supply Sark’s electricity in the future has come out fighting with a pitch to not only work with Chief Pleas – but Guernsey and Alderney too.
IslandPower has criticised Sark’s plans to use a loan from the States of Guernsey to compulsorily purchase Sark Electricity Limited.
It says that money won’t cover the cost of funding the Sark Community Energy Plan, “which has been conservatively costed at eight times the value of the loan”.
IslandPower is instead proposing that the whole Bailiwick looks at decentralised development of ‘Natural Grid’ renewable energy infrastructure owned in common by parish energy users, served by expert developer/operator partners and funded privately by capital partners.
IslandPower is a business that works with communities, technology and finance to ‘accelerate a smart transition to affordable, renewable energy’.
It has already worked with larger islands than ours, such as Antigua and Barbuda.
IslandPower was the preferred bidder when the current owner of SEL entered negotiations with a number of interested parties earlier this year.
However, that fell through, with Alan Witney-Price, the Managing Director and owner of SEL, blaming Chief Pleas for the deal collapsing. He accused the government of trying to block the sale.
IslandPower is still keen on progressing its purchase plans in Sark though – and across Guernsey and Alderney too.
It said that “as energy experts with global reach, Island Power reaffirms our support for Sark and Bailiwick energy independence through a public/private development partnership model already implemented at a $700m scale necessary for Bailiwick scale projects”.
IslandPower claims its plans for Sark in particular are “straightforward” – with an aim to invest in renewable energy and energy system efficiency through risk and cost sharing partnerships.
It says this has worked elsewhere and could work here.
IslandPower maintains that the current path – to compulsory purchase SEL – is the wrong direction for the island and the Bailiwick.
It is also concerned that other rumours around deals being done behind doors are a risk to Sark’s reputation.
“We have heard rumours that there may be an energy service provider waiting in the wings to execute a transaction with Chief Pleas which is politically pre-agreed but has unclear funding sources and costs to Sark energy users. If that is indeed the case, the risk of damage to Sark governance is high at a time when Westminster patience is running low.
“In contrast, we believe the nascent States of Deliberation has both opportunity and capability to support Sark in establishing transparent governance and achieving significant reductions in energy and financial costs. This is achievable through a proven public/private development partnership, based on the legal design successfully implemented in Trinidad at $700m power generation scale.”
IslandPower claims that not only does its model work in Trinidad, but it would work in Sark, and across the rest of the Bailiwick too.
It claims that it can provide renewable, clean energy, at little financial risk to the islands or the public.
“IslandPower believes that only transparent, community-led public/private partnerships can sustainably reduce energy costs, increase resilience, and deliver long-term value to the people of the Bailiwick,” it said. “Drawing on over seven years of engagement in Sark, collaboration with parish communities, and deep knowledge of the region’s legal and financial frameworks, IslandPower offers a pathway grounded in practice, not theory.”
“We believe the Bailiwick’s energy future lies not in repeating failed models, but in empowering residents through a co-created, cost-effective solution,” concluded Marcus Saul, of IslandPower.
“Our door remains open to Sark, Guernsey, service provider and investor participants in future Bailiwick Public / Private partnership governance.”