I recently returned home to our beautiful island of Guernsey inspired, (Italy will do that to you), but unlike previous trips which have left artsy images lingering in my head, this time, business was on the brain.
Business, and aspiring ambition.
For so many in Guernsey, the finance industry has done wonders. It’s provided bountiful opportunities for islanders, and brought eyes to a jurisdiction many, many people didn’t know existed.
It’s allowed us to play on a world stage, and speak with a voice far greater than a grouping of 60k+ people rightfully should, on a planet of 8.2 Billion.
Like the tomato industry before it, it’s helped keep many islanders fed, happy and satiated…but it’s failed to do one thing that other “premiere” industries do. It’s failed to make a tangible difference to the lives of ALL islanders.
In fact, for those on low to medium wages, one could argue the sheer size of finance locally has made it harder for those individuals. Their pounds stretch less, as wages outside the industry haven’t kept up at the same rate.
So as I was lounging on the lapping shores of an Italian lake, under the shadow of mountain range multiple millenia old, and sampling a small selection of Italy’s most well known export, I realised that Guernsey needs a great export, not for cash alone, but as a way to make life easier and better for all who call her home.
Vino; Cheaper than water
In the build up to my time on Lake Garda, I lost track of how many people mentioned ‘wine cheaper than water’.
There’s no need for soft drinks when the grapes are nearby, sweet, and always ready for harvest.
During my trip however, I learned that wasn’t hyperbole, that was a fact of life.
A bottle of water costing double that of a local glass of the finest red or white was common, but how do they get the cost down to the equivalent of £3. Surely the cost to keep the vineyards alive doesn’t allow for that? Surely they need to up the price…didn’t they realise we’ve had a cost of living crisis? So everything has to cost more for everyone.
The answer is in their exports. They ship off so much vino, that they can keep the prices low, reasonable, and fair for those living locally, (as well as an obvious boon and attraction for the variety of visitors).
So what could Guernsey possibly export? What could we make that is worth the investment needed in the near and far future, and would make a tangible difference to the day to day lives of islanders of all types? What would we even have space for on our tiny island?
The answer is power, and renewables may still have their detractors, but it is the future.
For an island so intertwined with our natural world, so dependent on the seas being kind, and a spritz of rain through the sunshine to keep fields green and pleasant, it makes sense from our branding perspective too.
The fact is with a greater adoption of AI, a greater adoption of cryptocurrency, a greater adoption of electric vehicles, a much, much greater need of power is also required.
All these cutting edge and modern parts of life require great amounts of power, and that’s across a global grid too.
We just happen to own our seabed.
We happen to have beautiful long stretches of sunshine.
We have one of the strongest tidal ranges in the world.
Guernsey should prioritise creating a sustainable energy network. A combination of all these natural elements, that make Guernsey the enchanting place it can be. The sun, the sea, the breeze. Use these things to generate more power than Guernsey could handle.
Generate so much that we can not only lower the cost, but become a sustainable and safe option for power generation. .
There’s a million ways to play this out, but let’s just take one theoretical, hypothetical possible situation, as a gentle thought experiment.
Let’s fast forward a few years, Guernsey has successfully implemented the first steps in leasing the seabed out for windfarm development. Great. Not only will the island, by proxy, generate it’s own power, it would generate enough to sell some to our nearby neighbours.
However, instead of the money ending up back in the big ol’ tax pot. In this scenario, the States instead ringfence some of that funding, and use it to further improve our green generating options.
In a swift move, this hypothetical States of Guernsey decide to install solar panels on every single property owned by the government. They used the money generated to significantly upgrade the power generation even further.
Perhaps they even decide to offer greater subsidies to citizens and residents who wish to fit solar panels or small turbines to their homes.
Maybe they take a leaf out of other jurisdictions’ books, and have solar canopies installed over car parks. Turning large swathes of tarmac into solar generating goliaths…those have the added benefit of keeping the cars cool too, for anyone who gets a bit of a burned bum when they hop back in after a long shift at work.
It’s not there yet, but tidal energy still has a chance at becoming a huge player in safe, sustainable power…and we all know about our tidal range.
Detractors of solar do have a point. I’ve experienced enough Guernsey summers to understand that sometimes they excel and can rival a beach day anywhere in the world, and other days BBQ’s get scuppered by an August downfall.
However, it was common knowledge amongst the italian wine connoisseurs I got speaking to, on several land purchases across England…for vineyards and wine production.
Having only recently learned the difference between an Italian meal with wine, and a meal out in the UK, I can see and understand some sommelier eyebrows already raising reluctantly.
I hear the gelato slipping to the floor in shock.
It’s anecdotal at best, so take it with a pinch of salt, but the reasoning was climate based, and used the ideal of “it’s happening”. England’s getting hotter, soon it’ll be a better climate for wine production than some historically legendary locations, some of which are already struggling.
So they’ve decided to futureproof their portfolios by purchasing land and beginning preparations for production.
French companies including Taittinger and Pommery, as well as German giant Henkell-Freixenet, are all reported to have purchased land in Southern England.
With Guernsey having an even more tropical climate in comparison, surely we should be looking ahead and doing the same?
I believe that as countless religions, communities and industries have done before, we should be betting on the sun, and mother nature as a great provider of power.
The genius stroke comes once you’ve made these investments, once you’ve pushed past the point of setting up, and are now generating more power than Guernsey could ever hope to use.
You make it free for every household and business on the island, or at least so cheap it’s pennies instead of pounds.
Energy is a basic necessity for modern day life. Yet every year there are stories of the elderly choosing between heating and eating. There’s the choice of paying a bill, or getting hit with an overdraft fee, for those on or near the breadline.
There are steps we can take to make these lives tangibly better.
The business case has been done before by others, we don’t need a consultation. Greater production, greater exportation of a modern day, and future necessity of life, enough to dwarf your local usage, leads to financial reward.
The Italians do it with wine, why shouldn’t we do it with our glorious environment that we’re lucky and privileged to be the stewards of?
It’s not just a pipe dream, the steps could be soon, and swift, if this iteration of the States is serious about making an impact.
I’ve often critiqued the States, when needed and deserved of course, (and sometimes it is deserved), however with an air of confidence over this new iteration of the Elected cast, and in a timeline in which “the worst states ever” hasn’t had a chance to be muttered in earnest, the last term did give them the starter kit for Guernsey’s glorious electrical evolution.
The offshore windfarm may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but frankly I think it’s a genius idea. In a world where the use of power is more prominent in our day to day lives than ever, we need something like this. We cannot rely on the powers that be in any jurisdiction away from our own shores.
We have to be the masters of our own destiny. I hate to use business board room jargon, but we need to at least be able to “wash our own face”.
Leasing the seabed and getting an instant injection of cash into the island makes sense.
Ensuring we still own our seabed, and getting a nice chunk of any power generated, makes sense.
Doubling down and developing even more methods of power generation makes sense.
Not only do we get another powerful industry locally to help work with finance in providing Guernsey a global platform, and revenue generator, it can also help ensure security and all sustainably too.
Speaking of finances. What’s the best way for money to be injected into an economy? It’s through everyday purchases and transactions, by everyday people. Experts agree a busy economy is a booming economy.
Less money leaving the family’s financial pot, means more money circulating. Being spent on goods and services. Being used to treat the elderly, or steady those struggling.
It means more chances to save.
It means more chances to travel, broaden the mind, and bring back interesting ideas to our idyllic islands.
