The States of Guernsey have prepared draft secondary legislation (an Ordinance) for public consultation under the Renewable Energy (Guernsey) Law 2010.
The aim of the Ordinance is to enable effective development of offshore renewables (such as offshore wind, tidal and wave energy) in Guernsey at the appropriate time and to provide robust environmental protection while still keeping the process of licensing offshore renewable energy systems as straight forward and streamlined as possible, given the potential complexity of the industry.
The Ordinance also aims to ensure that, in the licensing process, account is taken of the potential effects of offshore renewables on navigation, fisheries and other uses of the sea, and that Guernsey meets its obligations under any international agreements relating to the sea.
The purpose of the consultation is to gather views from local and other stakeholders as well as potential developers and interested parties on whether they consider that the Ordinance fulfills these aims. As such, the consultation is a full public consultation and, while there is a distribution list to certain key parties, Guernsey Renewable Energy Team (RET) is keen to ensure that all views are considered.
In Part II, the Ordinance sets out the requirements for licensing of all renewable energy activities in the marine environment in relation to renewable energy systems with a rated maximum output above 20kW (as outlined in the Law).
The consultation will last from the release date of 23rd October 2014 until the 20th January 2015. Enquiries and responses should be addressed to the Renewable Energy Team either through the Raymond Falla House postal address or through the website contact email.
The Ordinance – The Renewable Energy (Guernsey) Ordinance, 2014- is in draft form and is subject to any amendments arising from this consultation and subsequent approval by the States.
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Image: flickr/trev