Almost £1m has been spent so far on researching and developing plans for an offshore wind farm in Jersey’s territorial waters – with an extra £250k allocated in the budget for next year to progress policy development.
It comes just one week after the Environment Minister revealed that debate over whether Jersey will pursue an offshore wind farm project will take place at the start of next year.
Deputy Steve Luce said that, while he still intended to bring forward his recommendation to the States Assembly in November, he recognised the need to give Members “adequate time” to consider it. He stated that a debate “will be scheduled for January 2026”.
This week, the response to a request made under the Freedom of Information Law revealed that a total of £941,541 has been spent on the wind farm project since 2023.
The Carbon Neutral Roadmap, which was agreed in 2022, included proposals for examining options for utility scale renewable energy in Jersey.
The States Assembly approved a proposition to progress the next stage of the project in April last year.
This involved carrying out a policy appraisal supported by in-depth technical and economic evidence relating to the potential strategic drivers for a wind farm project for the island.
In 2023, £189,376 was spent on this from the Climate Emergency Fund policy development budget.
In 2024, £383,668 was spent from a dedicated budget of £500,000.
And, as of 7 August 2025, £368,497 has been spent so far this year from a £500,000 budget.
These annual figures include the cost of consultants and other expert advisors.
If the draft government Budget is approved, £250,000 will be allocated to the wind farm project from the Climate Emergency Fund next year.