The island of Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, is examining the possibility of building a 100MW offshore wind farm off its north east coast.
Guernsey commerce and employment minister Kevin Stewart said costs were being looked at. The island would work with either France or the UK. The Channel Islands are a British Crown Dependency, but geographically closer to France.
The turbines are likely to be in the 3MW range. One potential issue is that Guernsey's territorial waters only extend three nautical miles, although talks are ongoing to take this to 12. If the territorial waters are extended, the wind farm would go over 100MW.
In 2011, the Channel Islands signed a deal with the UK government to develop offshore wind. Britain is developing an All Islands Approach to link with Ireland and France via the Channel Islands, as well as a Nordic-Baltic Initiative.
Similarly, the Isle of Man, situated off the British coast in the Irish Sea, is also aiming to become an offshore wind hub for the Irish Sea. It consulted on its marine environment last autumn.
Initial government estimates suggest an immediate offshore wind potential of 225MW, with a favoured option of between 22 and 55 5MW offshore turbines.
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