THE potential of the Isle of Man to play a significant role in exporting offshore renewable energy to the United Kingdom was discussed this week during the opening of the world’s largest windfarm.
A senior delegation from the Isle of Man Government attended a ceremony in Barrow-in-Furness yesterday (Thursday, February 9, 2012) to mark the official launch of the ?1.2bn Walney scheme, off Cumbria.
Laurence Skelly MHK, Member of the Department of Economic Development with responsibility for energy policy and clean technology, met Ed Davey MP, the UK’s new Energy Secretary, and took the opportunity to highlight the Isle of Man’s huge potential as a supplier of clean power.
Mr Skelly said: ‘Mr Davey was interested to hear about the Island’s position as a leading advocate of eco technologies and its willingness to embrace new ideas such as the TT Zero clean emissions race. I was also able to underline the Isle of Man’s capacity to generate renewable energy in its territorial waters for export to the UK. The Island could in future develop a valuable new income stream by assisting the UK to meet its national and European renewable energy targets. Strengthening our relationship with the UK in this area will help to create mutually beneficial opportunities and it’s an issue I’m keen to explore further with Mr Davey.’
Mr Skelly was joined in Barrow-in-Furness by Dr Ken Milne, the Isle of Man’s Senior Manager for Energy Policy, at the invitation of Danish company Dong Energy.
The visit continued the Isle of Man Government’s programme of engagement with influential figures in Westminster and the North West business community.
The Isle of Man delegates were given a tour of the operation and maintenance facilities servicing the Walney offshore windfarm which comprises 102 turbines generating enough power to meet the needs of 320,000 homes.
Dr Milne said: ‘Maximising the potential of natural resources such as wind, wave and tidal remains an important element of the Isle of Man Government’s renewable energy strategy. Our central location in the Irish Sea opens up exciting possibilities in terms of exploiting the assets within our 12-mile territorial waters. Windfarms in and around our seas could be cabled to a central substation in the Isle of Man and connected to the UK grid. It is technically feasible and could provide a major economic boost to the Island in terms of investment, jobs and income generation. It is something we are looking at very seriously.’
The Isle of Man, which has a thriving clean-tech cluster, is considered to be well positioned to contribute to the ‘All Islands’ approach to renewable energy agreed by the British-Irish Council.
Mr Skelly said: ‘The Isle of Man is committed to playing its part in joint working towards a more sustainable future and the cost-effective exploitation of renewable energy resources. We will continue to progress matters with the other BIC countries and I very much hope that Mr Davey will be able to visit the Island in the near future to view our many energy initiatives, including the TT Zero electric motorcycle race.’
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