A DECISION on which option to choose for renewable energy sources has not been taken and will be delayed for at least a year, Tynwald was told this morning.
DEFA Minister John Shimmin said the decision had been taken chiefly because the General Election in November would bring new faces into government and it would have been “unfair” to hand the new politicians with a proposal in which they had not been involved.
“Other eyes will look at this subject after the House of Keys General Election; therefore we have decided to delay the decision for 12 months and not to embark on an significant expenditure with further consultancy.” He said that a figure above £20,000 would constitute “significant expenditure”.
Mr Shimmin also confirmed that his department had not made any decision about the recently published consultancy document by AEA which recommended onshore wind farms as the best option for the Isle of Man’s future energy needs in compliance with EU targets for 2015.
“Tendering has been put on hold . . the delay will give the sub committee time to look at the economics further and examine other potential sources of renewable energy. Tynwald have set targets and we have a responsibility and a duty to pursue those. . . But I can reassure the Isle of Man that no decision has been taken.”
Mr Shimmin said that there had been expression of interest in building and operating renewable energy systems from 12 different companies, two of which had headquarters in the Isle of Man. Eight sites had been identified for possible 20 Megawatt onshore windfarms, chiefly in the north west of the Island.
David Cannan MHK, whose constituency includes the most favoured site - in Jurby - asked a series of questions and claimed that government had not considered the cost of “many millions” for transformers to be installed alongside onshore windfarms to deliver electricity into the network. He also claimed DEFA was not taking into account the serious concerns of his constituents since the consultancy report was published, recommending Jurby as the most suitable site for the windfarm.
In a sharp response, Mr Shimmin replied, “We are a team of people working for the good of the Isle of Man. . . . Mr Cannan is taking this debate down this route for purely NIMBY (not in my back yard) reasons in Kirk Michael and his constituency.”
President of Tynwald Noel Cringle intervened following this remark and brought the exchange to a halt before moving on to the next Tynwald question.
