Jersey Electricity has announced the ambition to power 5000 homes with locally-generated solar energy by 2030.
Powering 5000 homes is the equivalent of generating 36MWp of electricity from various solar voltaic sources – enough to power around 10% of housing in Jersey. Solar currently accounts for less than 0.5% of Jersey’s current energy generation. Achieving the Solar 5000 ambition would increase it to 6.5% of the energy share, all generated locally.
The solar energy could be generated from Jersey Electricity’s (JE) ground-mount solar sites, which are larger scale and divert electricity back to the grid for all customers to use, its partnerships with various businesses where rooftop solar has been installed on commercial premises, or solar energy generated by individuals on their own roofs – which JE will begin to offer later this year.
Ground-mount solar is poised to becoming increasingly more prominent in Jersey’s energy mix, meaning the community will all be able to share in the benefits of locally-generated solar power. The first ground-mount community-scale installation is due to start generating later this year with construction moving at pace in St Clement. JE continues to build relationships with new potential partners for more ground-mount solar partnerships and welcomes any expressions of interest.
JE’s COO Mark Preece (pictured) said: “Solar energy makes sense for Jersey – we have sunshine in abundance – so it should form a growing part of our energy strategy alongside the low carbon electricity we import from France. We have set our ambitions high to power 5000 homes through a mixture of different types of locally-generated solar energy. We are confident that we have great traction with several ground-mount solar sites either starting construction or through the initial stages of planning and a strong portfolio of commercial rooftop partnerships. We are also finalising our domestic solar offer which we’re excited to launch later this year.
“Jersey has a proud history of harnessing the natural assets of our Island so it’s a logical step to use our solar energy to power our lives, especially as solar technology has become more cost-effective in recent years.
“I view Solar 5000 as a collective ambition for our Island, something we can all share in and be proud of as we reinforce our Island’s energy sovereignty and bolster our locally-generated renewable capabilities – both as a company and individuals.”
