Building solar panels on farm land made harder

Jersey politicians have voted to make it harder to build solar panels on farm land.

Deputy Montfort Tadier initially brought a proposition to ban solar ground mounts on agricultural land after sponsoring a petition signed by more than 800 people.

However, after feedback he amended it and the States Assembly approved a version where there is now a "presumption against" solar farms on agricultural land - so the default position for planners is to refuse them.

Save This View - a group that has campaigned against solar farms in Jersey - welcomed the decision and has called for Jersey Electricity (JE) to completely scrap plans for a solar farm in St Mary, which are currently on hold.

In the proposition, Tadier said he was not against renewable energy or against JE looking to diversify its energy supply.

"In short, my starting position is that Jersey fields should be kept for agriculture," he said.

"If we are to be more environmental and more sustainable, we should be looking first and foremost to being more self-sufficient in terms of food.

"Food security remains a critical area for us, and at this time of year especially, we are mindful that we are only need a few days of stormy weather to find that many of the shops' shelves are empty."

He said he amended his proposition because there were some politicians who recognised there might be exceptional circumstances where installing solar panels may be justifiable.

The States approved Tadier's amended proposition on Friday by 23 votes to 19.

Wililiam Layzell, from Save This View, said the decision on Tadier's proposition was a "clear signal from the States" that further solar farm schemes should be abandoned.

He said residents living near the proposed St Mary solar farm were still in limbo after Jersey Electricity confirmed plans to put 9,000 panels on land known as Champs Verts had been paused.

"JE Managing Director Chris Ambler told us that he was waiting for a decision on Deputy Tadier's proposition before proceeding. Now, he has that decision," he said.

The campaign group has called upon JE to "scrap Champs Verts and put residents out of their misery".

Layzell said: "We've waited long enough. This is not the way a major utility company should treat islanders."

Previously, JE said the Champs Verts farm was "under review" as part of a wider reassessment of the company's Solar 5000 programme, which aims to generate 25 megawatts of local solar power by 2027.

It said it was "committed to supporting an informed discussion about the island's future energy resilience".

The BBC has contacted JE for comment about the approved proposition and an update on its plans for Champs Verts.

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