AS Jersey’s first solar farm prepares to generate electricity for the first time in the coming weeks, a farming union has urged caution about whether further sites should be developed.
Striking aerial pictures obtained by the JEP show the scale of the project at Rue du Moulin à Vent in St Clement.
Jersey Electricity said the solar farm, situated on a 4.9 hectare plot, was in the final testing and commissioning phase and was due to start generating power for the Island’s grid in April.
The new farm is expected to generate enough electricity for one in seven homes in St Clement and forms part of Jersey Electricity’s ambition to have 5,000 homes – 10% of the Island’s total – powered by locally-generated solar power by 2030.
However the utility company’s vision for the future – dubbed Solar 5000 – has also generated opposition, with parishioners in St Mary arguing against the Champs Vert scheme at Rue de La Hougue Mauger.
Jersey Electricity announced two weeks ago that it had withdrawn its application for the Champs Verts project, which would have involved around 9,100 solar panels, but intended to submit a fresh application later this year.
The Jersey Farmers Union was one of the bodies which submitted views on the St Mary scheme, and president Dougie Richardson told the JEP that a proper evaluation of three projects already approved – including the St Clement site – was necessary prior to any further schemes being progressed.
“Before we make final decisions on other projects then I believe we need to take on board a proper assessment of the earlier developments,” he said. “I think anyone with a sensible head on their shoulders would agree with that.”
In the union’s submission regarding the Champs Vert application, Mr Richardson said that the true visual and environmental impact of such schemes was “as yet unknown” and urged the government to proceed “with appropriate caution”.
Jersey Electricity said that landscaping, reseeding and fencing work would be carried out over the coming weeks around the Moulin à Vent site, with a flock of around 120 sheep belonging to local farmer Jeremy Hughes grazing the land.
A spokesperson said: “The land and soil will flourish and regenerate from previous intensive farming and nitrate use, with local pollinators and mammals able to create safe natural habitats.
“In the planning process, views are considered from the perspective of public viewpoints from ground locations, and the site will be screened from view with hedging.”
Nigel Jones of environmental campaign group Jersey in Transition said he did not have a strong objection to the installation of solar panels on agricultural land, as the equipment could be removed at a later date if it was no longer needed.
Mr Jones also said that he hoped opportunities would be taken to encourage installations on top of commercial buildings, homes and car parks in order to maximise the amount of electricity being generated and increase Jersey’s energy security.
