IT IS unfortunate that Environment Minister Jonathan Renouf has declared that the Island is ready for ‘wind power’ just days from the news that a Swedish energy company has halted work on the multi-billion-pound Norfolk Boreas wind farm, as it was no longer profitable.

The wind power industry is facing higher-than-expected maintenance problems, as its huge turbine blades are damaged in adverse weather conditions, such as hail and heavy rain. Clearly the additional repair and replacement work is most expensive when carried out by boat at sea, creating major problems for the economic viability of the offshore industry.

Given the unique geography of the Channel Islands, marine-generated power would seem to be a much better investment, even if it will take longer to install.

The local rise and fall of tide are enormous in terms of power-generating capacity.

Alderney is researching harnessing the Alderney Race tidal flow, but there are plenty of other options. Tidal power is also far more reliable than sun or wind, with two high tides each day of varying heights between neaps and springs.

The best location for Jersey’s future renewable energy resources is the Ramsar zone on the south-east coast, where the sea retreats up to a mile and a half between tides. Sadly, a short-sighted States Assembly handed over control of that area to the Switzerland-based bureaucrats supervising the Ramsar Convention and the Island’s first move must be to regain control of all local development.

Historically, power in Jersey was derived from watermills and windmills, with the watermills harnessing the streams flowing down valley slopes to the sea. On Jersey’s coastline, ‘gullies’ are the marine equivalent of valleys and the tidal movement offshore means that the power of the sea can be utilised on both the falling and rising tide. With a cubic metre of sea water weighing 1,000 kilos, the power potential over several metres of rise and fall of tide level is massive.

I am not an architect, consultant or engineer, but I do have design concepts ready to go for a relatively cheap renewable energy solution of large electricity output, where all the relevant technology is already tried and tested. I suggest that it is time to ‘take back control’ and get something major done the ‘Genuine Jersey Way’.

5 Beauvoir Court, Rue à Don, Grouville.