We’ll sell the sea
Tuesday 4th December 2012, 3:00PM GMT.
SIGNIFICANT tracts of Jersey’s territorial waters could be rented out to European companies to build wind- or wave-power farms, the Environment Minister has said.
Although it is a move that has been hinted at in the past, Rob Duhamel’s comments at a Scrutiny hearing yesterday are believed to be the first official confirmation that the States is considering boosting its income by allowing foreign companies to harness the Island’s natural resources to generate renewable energy in exchange for payment.
And he told the Environment Scrutiny panel that preparations behind the scenes were progressing well to allow the plan to become a reality sooner rather than later.
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Well that’s the fishing industry screwed then !!!
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Not to mention the effect it will have on our shore lines with tidal impacts, more green weed around the islands with greater rip tides??????
In 20 years time, the children of today will ask why the hell this wasn’t looked into!!!!!!!!!
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Nothing new there!!!
This current government do not want to help the industry anyway, The days of a larger potter is well and truly gone, just single handed beach boats will be left.
But they might have a harder battle with the french!!
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Would it not be better to use our own waters to generate cheaper electricity for ourselves????? so we are not tied to a monopoly like the JEC.
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Don’t talk such sense, man! We don’t need sensible thinking ’round these ways, besides, who needs electricity when we can have money!
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Great plan, and who’s going to pay for the development and installation of bleeding edge power generation technology? 20% GST, anyone?
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We own over 50% of the JEC through the States.
Do you suggest we get a company such as EDF to run it?
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It will cost billions to develop yes we can do it ourselves but 50p a unit will really have the customers moaning. Unless a major country is going to foot the bill just not possible for such a small place like jersey to exploit.
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I don’t understand the comments here, it’s better than getting electricity from nuclear power and I’m sure Jersey will get it’s power from these companies investing. Just put solar panels on your roofs if you have a problem with it
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we’ve already sold out our Island to finance and big business, so why not start to sell the sea its the only thing we have left.
But wait a minute what about HM the Queen, doesn’t Her Majesty own everything up to and including the high water mark on the sea shore, so unless we are going to put these wind farms on our beaches maybe Mr. Duhamel should consider what the Queen has to say about it or isn’t he going to bother and ask her?
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good point windy.
i too believe her majesty owns our waters .
lets see if one of raleighs relatives turns up with a bit of dusty parchment.
or the fief de la mer pops out of a cupboard.
we do have a good tidal flow and range.
not a bad idea to use it.
hopefully it will keep us all on income support regardless if you own a home of not.
when the fan gets switched to full on.
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You’ve beaten me to it with the “Fief de la mer” idea!
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About time! At least with this one we are not ‘behind the curve’ as with so many other things from our ‘sleeping politicians’.Online gambling,IPR and fast broadband (terrestrial of course gulp!) just to name a few.
Now lets see the Jersey Independence Party try and scupper (again) the FACT that we CAN benefit from European research either as third parties, full project members or as sub-contract parties.The energy calls from Brussels are more open in this than some of the others.Believe me ,I know what I am talking about having been an SME in FP5 and FP7 projects and only last week was identified as the Jersey delegate at an inaugrual project meeting.We were up there on the pie chart as 2% of the delegation.
Yes it does take some imagination to find your way through the maze of acronyms (I have my own PIC and am a full LEAR), but we are part of Europe for trade and are welcomed.
As a slight aside we are unlikely to be looking at wind or wave but definitely tidal turbine and environmentally this can link with fishing no-take zones and aquaculture to enhance productivity overall.
That said I have marginal confidence that if this is put in the hands of Economic Development it will come out well but I can remain hopeful.
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And now for the practicalities.
ERFTCUTW (employ redundant fishermen to clean up the water). MLOV (massive lumps of vraic) and DFG (discarded fishing gear)will need removing from the TLA (turbine location area) if we are not to be left with a TCU.
By all means remain hopeful. I’m not too hopeful that you will only get paid by results and not up front for grandiose ideas liberally laced with impressive jargon.
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I really like M’LOV but perhaps KIOC !Keep it in ordinary context , might also apply.
My point was that this is going to happen near us anyway whether or not we are ‘players’.
There are enough cheques (sic) and balances on the economic and environmental front to ensure that fairness should be a priority. Then if we get cheaper electricity, greater catches ( more complex environment and no-catch zones)and an input into a new industry at the ground floor I can’t see the problem.Most of the areas being considered are only fished by French pair trawlers at night and weekends or when the Harbours website shows the Norman Le Brocq on the dry! That will have to stop.
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The areas been considered are all fished by jersey vessels!!
French pair trawlers are not allowed to fish within the 3 mile limit!!!
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We really have become desperate haven’t we!
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Sell the sea ? Is the situation really that bad that we have to sell the sea ? If so I suggest all Jersey grannies watch their backs as they could be next !
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Grannies and Grand Fathers need not worry about being sold, they need to worry about the so called Liverpool Care Pathway I for one will refuse to go into the Jersey General hospital when I reach old age !!!
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We could sell our Liverpool Care Pathway services to European countries!
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I’ve seen enough of the General Hospital and the Crematorium to keep me well away from Jersey in my old age. Depressingly predictable pathway.
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In lieu of rent, could we not take maybe 50% of the energy? That sounds fair to me.
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If areas are off limits for fishing, and are considered in such a way as to improve stocks, good idea. Why not let someone else pay for installation, as long as the States do negotiate a good deal for Island consumers. The elctrons have to be agitaed somehow if forums like this are to continue.
As the Island is also claiming the sunniest place in UK why not insist new building incorparate solar panels? I realise that Jersey Air Traffic may now suffer a surfit of pork, but the problems of energy use won’t go away.
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This government would sell their soul to the devil if it brought is a few quid.
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Andrew – Would it not be better to use our own waters to generate cheaper electricity for ourselves????? so we are not tied to a monopoly like the JEC.
The problem with that idea is that we would have a cheap reliable supply of electricity not dependant upon ageing degrading cables leading to France. Chris Ambler has worked hard on his excuses for regular power failure and is committed to ensuring that Jersey has the highest electricity prices in Europe.
I run my house on Duracell AA batteries which are available currently on a BOGOF promotion. In environmental terms it is utterly unsustainable and I’m having to find increasingly ingenious ways to deceive the bin men with their disposal but it does mean during our regular power cuts mine is the only house in Jersey with power.
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Good luck with the Duracell’s. I will stick with one of the cheapest electricity supples in Europe my bin men are far to vigilant.
It’s the little bunnies that give the game away.
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build it where the old sailing school was the wind is always there which ever way it blows,
If it brings in money and we get lower bills than go ahead but if we still pay the same forget it.
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A few positive comments and the usual barrage of NEGATIVE comments from people that ‘probably’ have achieved very little in life, find it easy to find fault with everything and have actually contributed nothing to get the Island out of the hole that it is in.
Someone suggests something that will cost the Island nothing and potentially raised millions!….Who would be a Politician and be open to such constant negativity.
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A suggestion for you, cut back on the army of Civil servants with grand Government titles [ that the private sector corporations laugh at ] that produce nothing but cost a fortune draining the coffers.
That is Just what the UK Government under PM Cameron has done yet again in another wave of goodbye letters, in order to reinvest in infrastructure to boost the economy
Mr Cameron points out that it is not front line workers who are essential for services.
Davey.
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Procurement Enhancement Operatives….!
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*LOL*…
every time us peasants over here in Guernsey feel down, we just take a look at what you lot are up to and suddenly, we don’t feel so bad.
Someone mentioned with justified distaste our poor poo disposal situation over here, well, when these things are implemented, it’ll go some way towards dispersing some of it…
cheers!
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donkey_ville wait till you hear the bridge to france one!……..
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Like a giant whisk o’ lait hahaha.
This is what happens when the SHTF hahaha rofl.
Anyway.. This is untested technology and very expensive and so it shall be for a long time. This is a total non headline “politician mentions sea borne power generation tech in meeting.”
You don’t just decide to make this sort of project happen, it takes years of surveying, feasibility and planning to get it off the ground, even if Duhamel had the political capital to kick this off he probably won’t be around see it switched on.
Sorry my stinky neighbour we won’t be stirring the… Oh never mind I’m done with my puerile nonsense.
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Well we already sold off all our morals, our land and spirit…. all we have left is our foreshore!! Needless to say there will be some sort legal issues with this one too!!!
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You have been given another chance.
Do it right from the start and use the money
made for the good of the people of Jersey.
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Scrope, scrope, scrope!
Wnat’s that noise?
It is a failed member of an intellectually bankrupt administration scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Just wait until all the seriously wealthy who have paid millions for sea views work out that they will be looking out on 21st century industrial seascape.
You will hear the screams from La Coupe to Portelet you!
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Now this is clever. We sell the sea to an unsuspecting buyer who takes it away, but 12-1/2 hours later it returns to us at high tide.. I think we’re onto a winner here.
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They would sell their grandmothers if they could.
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They would sell their Granny!!!!
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I wonder if a small water turbine could be developed for yachts to harness energy while under sail, power on yachts is always a concern, it would be much like a wind generator but placed on the keel!
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Too much drag which would compromise performance. They already have wind generators on board which do the job perfectly well and don’t noticeably slow the vessel down.
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The good Minister may be disappointed to discover that the Crown Estate owns the seabed. Could I suggest a quick discussion with HM Attorney General before he embarrasses the Island further.
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This is false hope. (a) Jersey does not have an adequate tidal resource for viable tidal turbine energy product (only place in C.I. is off Alderney) and (b) As far a generating energy from Wave is concerned there are far better places to site this. Sadly there will be no private enterprise knocking for this opportunity.
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i’d like to see where about’s around the island they would consider putting the turbines
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Might as well stick them alongside the new incinerator at La Collette. Cement a few to the sides of the block, it cant look any worse than it does at the moment.
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Given that the environmentalists prevented them putting up a simple pole to monitor wind strength on an offshore reef what chance has any of this – until sea levels rise and we can place a sea turbine on top of Plemont.
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