An offshore wind farm could provide the island’s economy with an annual boost of about £250m once operational, analysis by Jersey’s government has claimed.
But the report, external emphasised “further in-depth feasibility and appraisal work would be needed as part of building a full business case”. Ministers have put forward proposals for a 1,000 MW wind farm off Jersey’s south-west coast to meet islanders’ energy needs and create electricity for export.
They said it should be privately funded and designed, and that it could be operational in the early 2030s. The analysis was written by civil servants in the Department of the Economy in June 2023, but was published this month. It said a wind farm of the size proposed could take up about 9% of the island’s marine area and produce 3,796 GWh of electricity per year - about six times Jersey’s electricity consumption in 2021.
The figures are based on a “conservative” price per unit of 6p/kWh, and an assumption that 125 wind turbines, each with a maximum capacity of 8MW, would be built. “This is an initial model estimate and would need to be further developed as part of any further business case development,” the report said.
During the construction phase, if less than 10% of costs are spent in Jersey:
913 jobs could be created in Jersey
12,510 jobs could be created off-island “through supply chain spending”
The project could boost Jersey’s economy by £60m a year - Gross Value Added (GVA)
Once a wind farm is operational, if 100% of costs are spent in Jersey, up to 113 direct jobs and 56 “indirect or induced” jobs could be created in Jersey. The boost to the economy is anticipated to be about £250m a year (GVA), estimated as the annual cost of operations and maintenance, training staff, onshore and offshore logistics, and turbine spare parts
It said: “Alternatively, there could be significant off island spending, such as if operations and maintenance jobs were based in a French port rather than Jersey.” A 1,000 MW project “would generate annual tax liability of approximately £42m”.