EVERY householder in Guernsey would have to pay £500 if tidal power was used to meet proposed cuts in CO2 emissions, according to the OUR. Electricity consumers already face paying in excess of £40m. to replace on-island generation capacity by 2016, it says.
In its response to the energy policy Green Paper, the regulator said that more emphasis should be put on energy efficiency.
Its stance on tidal power puts it at loggerheads with Guernsey Electricity, which recently released its own response to the paper.
‘Greenhouse gas emissions from electricity could immediately be reduced by 20% for less than £15 per household if the States put energy efficiency at the top of the climate change agenda,’ said OUR director-general John Curran.
‘This compares to a cost of £500 per household if it chooses to invest in a new generation technology like tidal energy.
‘Even at this cost, it achieves less than a 1% reduction in total emissions in Guernsey and, given the early stage of tidal technology, massive uncertainties on cost and timing remain.’
The Green Paper proposed a number of investigations into schemes aimed at meeting a new carbon emission target - a reduction of 30% on 1990 levels by 2020.
The regulator believes that the different nature of emissions in Guernsey compared to other jurisdictions needs to be considered.
The proposed energy policy was focused on energy generation, which accounts for less than 9% of the island’s current emission sources, he said.
‘The island will have to foot a bill of almost £100m. over the next 10 years if it is to achieve the renewables targets proposed as we will also have to fund replacement of the island’s generation capacity over this same period,’ said Mr Curran.
‘By focusing too closely on renewable energy generation, the island could get drawn into a heavy engineering solution that involves uncertain costs. This could all be in pursuit of targets similar to the UK and EU which are not the best fit for Guernsey given the very different nature of our infrastructure and economy.’
He added that renewable generation
was crucial to the UK reducing its emissions, but Guernsey could achieve the same reductions with a different, and cheaper, approach.
The OUR believes additional research should be undertaken by the energy policy group before the States sets any targets for either emission reduction or renewable generation capacity.
‘Reducing our demand is where Guernsey should focus its efforts for now,’ said Mr Curran.
‘In our view, we lose nothing and gain lots from a wait-and-see approach to tidal generation. It is still extremely unclear which of the many different renewable technologies available will succeed. Rushing into a decision now, when there are other more immediate and more productive steps we can take, may be counter productive in the long run.’
Article posted on 25th January, 2008 - 12.00am
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