Spending on researching, development and promotion for the windfarm project

​​Request 735623139

How much money has the Planning and Environment Department spent to date on researching, developing and promoting their proposals for the windfarm project including fees paid to any consultants, and other expert advisors and including the cost of the time spent by the Law Officers so far preparing leases and agreements for all aspect of the project. What is their estimated cost for completion of this preparation phase for this project.

Response

This request is being answered by Strategic Planning, Policy & Performance, which is part of the Cabinet Office, the lead department on the offshore wind project.

Strategic Policy 2 (Page 37) of the Carbon Neutral Roadmap, which was agreed in 2022, included proposals for examining options for utility scale renewable energy. In April 2024 the States Assembly approved a proposition (P.82/2023 Offshore Wind) to progress the next stage of the project which was to carry out a policy appraisal supported by in-depth technical and economic evidence relating to the potential strategic drivers for this project for Jersey.

For 2023, expenditure was from the Climate Emergency Fund (CEF) policy development budget approved by the States Assembly as part of Government Plan 2023 to 2026.pdf​. 

For 2024, the States Assembly approved a dedicated budget of £500,000 via proposition P.82/2023​.

For 2025, the States Assembly approved a dedicated budget of £500,000 in the Budget (Government Plan) 2025 to 2028.​

Expenditure against those budgets for 2023, 2024 and 2025 including consultants and other expert advisors is set out below.

​The project is ongoing and the remaining budget will be allocated as necessary to bring the current phase of the project to completion. No funding is approved for 2026. If a further phase of this project is recommended in the Report and Proposition that will be lodged in 2025, a funding source will need to be approved by the States Assembly.

Strategic Planning, Policy & Performance does not hold information relating to other departments’ costs (including Law Officers Department), therefore Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies.

Article applied

Article 3 - Meaning of “information held by a public authority”

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –

(a)     it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or

(b)     it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.​​​