The islands seem as unprepared as ever for the withdrawal of the Finance Industry and we continue to place all our eggs in one basket.
What can we do?
Well there aren't that many options but one absolutely gold plated option is the investment in Tidal Energy. Not only will this provide a potential future income stream by selling electricity to France but it will also enable the island to power other industries as much reduced cost thereby increasing their competitiveness.
Two examples of this are the Data centre Hosting business and - dare I say it - Growing!
Data centres run mainly by the telecoms providers locally currently consume huge amounts of electrical power and generate large income streams. The gambling industry uses most of this, probably more than the financial sector and it is set to increase. In London the capacity is limited not by available space for data centres, but available power. So an offshore jurisdiction without such constraints will be highly attractive to a number of industries.
More conventional industry also needs electrical energy and with escalating costs this offers a potential opportunity for Guernsey Growers. Remember the decline of out tomato industry? It was subsidised fuel offered to the Dutch growers that finally put the last nail in our coffin. The Dutch could extend their growing season at very little cost and so produce more fruit and reap more benefits of scale. Of course, the Spanish have always had the advantage of a naturally extended season but, and it's a big 'but' consumers are becoming increasingly aware of 'food miles' and they want to but from closer to home. Imagine a locally growing industry powered by Tidal Energy to once again extend the season!
Not only are these opportunities emerging as potentially decreasing our dependence on the single financial industry, but they are also bang on the environmental issue as well.
Guernsey needs to wake up and recognise this opportunity fast.
This might just be what life after finance looks like - and it doesn't look bleak!
Bob
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