Isle of Man wind farm would boost economy by £2bn, firm claims

A proposed new wind farm off the east coast of the Isle of Man could generate £2 billion for the island’s economy over its 35-year lifespan, the company behind it has claimed.

Under Orsted’s wind farm project, called Mooir Vannin, 87 turbines would be built off the coast of Maughold.

The firm said the sea bed rental and predicted taxation for the project would see £57m go to the government each year, while up to £1.5m would go into a community investment fund annually more than 15 years.

A consultation last year saw some 226 of 508 respondents saying they were not in favour of the proposals, leading to the scheme being scaled back.

Concerns raised included the visual impact, effects on wildlife and implications for shipping and navigation, leading to the firm reducing the number of planned turbines.

A public meeting is set to be held later this month as Garff Commissioners gathers more views from residents about the potential visual and environmental impacts to “inform” its discussions with the firm and the government.

The Isle of Man Government has declined to comment while the plans remain under consideration.

Plans were submitted in March but withdrawn while the government made changes to its Marine Infrastructure Management Act, and resubmitted last month.

The project will now go through a six-month examination period, which will involve an island-wide consultation, followed by a three-month period for a recommendation report to be written.

The Council of Ministers would then have three months to consider the proposals, and if approved the firm hopes the project would be operational between 2031 and 2033.

Project director Jamie Baldwin said the firm could install a cable to connect the wind farm to the island.

The other option being considered was to solely connect the wind farm to the UK grid, which would then be bought by the island.

The £4.5bn project, which spans 81 sq miles (211 sq km), would generate “far in exceedance” of what the island would require, he said, so the majority of the energy would go back to the UK.

The project would also create 30 jobs, he said.