Does the Isle of Man need a new interconnector?

Balancing the Isle of Man’s electricity network requires stabilising power; this cannot be provided from sources which are reliant on the weather to produce electricity as these sources cannot be guaranteed at all times. In all scenarios the most cost-effective solution of providing this stabilising power is a new interconnector to the UK.

Where does the Isle of Man electricity come from?

The majority of the Isle of Man’s electricity is currently sourced from fossil fuels. The interconnector is a source of carbon neutral electricity on island and also provides a route to export electricity to the GB Market.

Can electricity be decarbonised on the Isle of Man?

Electricity generation is responsible for approximately 33% of all greenhouse gas emissions on the Isle of Man, and a majority of this is currently sourced from fossil fuels (natural gas). Without the decarbonisation1 of electricity, it will not be possible to reduce carbon emissions significantly in other areas such as heating and transport.

Does the Isle of Man import energy from the UK?

The Isle of Man currently imports all of its energy from the UK (with the exception of what is produced from Sulby). In all future models, the Isle of Man remains dependent on GB for the provision of baseload. This is the case even where capacity is increased by building excess renewables, as the stabilisation is still provided by interconnectors.

Could the Isle of Man re-import electricity from an offshore wind farm?

With interconnectors the Isle of Man could re-import electricity generated from an offshore wind farm, allowing GB to manage the balancing. This would likely result in much lower costs to consumers. CFDs are not currently open to the Isle of Man as it is not part of the UK.

Can the Isle of Man rely on gas and oil?

It’s clear that like all leading economies the Isle of Man cannot rely on gas and oil indefinitely. While the island’s target to achieve net-zero by 2050 may seem far away, most of us worry about the current price of energy. Graph showing options to generate renewable power, store energy and utilise power on the Isle of Man.