AS the government seeks Islanders’ views on whether offshore wind power will be used as a future means of generating electricity, the final turbines have been installed on a French facility visible from Jersey.
The completion of the construction phase of the £1.8 billion St Brieuc project, which lies 23 miles south-west of Corbière, came a week before Christmas, with a vessel transporting the final turbine blades from Le Havre to the site and installing them on the last of 62 bases that are set in the sea bed.
By the end of March, the French farm will be fully operational, with its capacity of 496 megawatts representing sufficient power to cover 9% of Brittany’s total electricity consumption.
The possibility of a similar, but potentially larger, facility in Jersey waters has moved closer during 2023, with Environment Minister Jonathan Renouf sharing his enthusiasm for such a project.
Deputy Renouf said the venture would be privately funded and generate far more energy than Jersey would need, allowing the surplus to be sold to other jurisdictions. A consultation exercise began on 10 November and is running for 14 weeks, with Islanders invited to contribute their thoughts as to whether Jersey should proceed to the next stage. The initial outcome of the consultation will be published prior to a debate in the States Assembly next spring.
At a recent public meeting in his home parish of St Brelade, Deputy Renouf countered observations from attendees about the negative visual impact of a wind farm. He pointed out that there was already a facility of this type – the St Brieuc project – visible on the horizon, but that Jersey extracted no benefit from this, unlike the potential economic benefits of the scheme he is advocating.
The new French facility covers an area of some 75sq-km – around two-thirds the size of Jersey, with the turbines arranged in seven rows 1,300m apart with 1,000m between each raised platform.
The turbines – made up of a 90m mast and three 80m-long blades – are fixed to platform which rise about 30m above the water level.
Stéphane Alain Riou, offshore wind director of Iberdrola France, said his company had now developed four wind farms in Europe and was currently building the East Anglia 3 park in the UK, with a capacity of 1.4 GW and the Vineyard project in the United States, expected to generate 800 MW.
Iberdrola is one of the companies to have previously expressed interest in talking to Jersey about the potential for a scheme here.
Those wanting to take part in the consultation for the proposed Jersey project can visit gov.je/government/consultations.
