10/04/2014 BBC Channel Islands News

Good evening. 150 tidal turbines complainants in the trial. But

Good evening. 150 tidal turbines could be on Alderney's sea bed by

2020, enough to power 150,000 homes. A major renewable energy project

between French firm Open`Hydro and Alderney Renewable Energy was

launched in France this morning. David Earl reports.

Alderney Renewable Energy and OpenHydro chose a major

international convention in Cherbourg to make their

announcement, a prestigious event for this important agreement. There

are pleased to be here this morning. We are here to announce the creation

of a joint venture. The ambitious plan involves deploying 150 marine

turbines in the Alderney Race and connecting them by an underwater

cable linking France, Alderney, and the UK. Alderney renewable energy

has a 65 year licence to develop the tides around Alderney. We believe

there is 3000 megawatts of power there, and today we have signed a

joint venture to develop the first 300 megawatts. This will be

developed for 2020, which will coincide with the commissioning of

the connector from France through Alderney to Britain. It is a very

important day for us and the island of Alderney. The turbines, each

wrong way down hundred tonnes, will have to withstand some of the

strongest side of the world. But, crucially, they have not yet been

tested in the Alderney Race. We have to look at the heritage of testing

and development over the last decade. We were the first company to

install a turbine in the Orkney Islands and Scotland, the tide up

there are every bit as strong and aggressive as in Alderney, and we

have been testing up there since 2006 and had great success with the

results we have achieved. In addition, no`one really knows what

kind of environmental impact these devices will have. We don't know. We

are looking at a very large scale proposed development but it is small

by scale of the Marine environment as a whole and it is an incredibly

energetic environment. What is vitally important is we look at

high`grade preinstallation monitoring so we know what the

environment goes on before we interfere with it. On the whole we

hope it will be a net positive impact installing these devices but

it has to be done with care and respect. Whilst it will take three

years to obtain the necessary consents, ARE are confident that

they will be generating marine renewable energy by 2020 at the

latest. A man has appeared in court in

Jersey following the death of Vitor Fernandes in a car crash on Victoria

Avenue last December. 21`year`old Jose Silva has been charged with

causing death by dangerous driving. Emma Chambers reports.

Vitor Fernandes was just 22 when he was killed in this car crash on

Victoria Avenue. It happened just after ten o'clock at night on the

30th December last year. Vitor was treated by paramedics at the scene

of the crash but was later pronounced dead at hospital. Today

the man charged with causing his death appeared in court. Jose Silva

appeared before the Magistrates court this morning charged with

causing death by dangerous driving. He wore a dark grey hooded jumper

and looked impassive as ten charges were read out against him, a string

of them relating to the condition of the car he was driving on the night

of the collision. But the main charge of causing death by dangerous

driving was deemed by the Magistrate Mr Peter Harris as "too serious for

this court." Jose Silva has been released on bail but is due to

re`appear at the Magistrates court in two weeks' time for his committal

to Jersey's Royal Court on Thursday 22nd May.

The Royal Bank of Canada has pulled out of its planned offices on the

site of Jersey's Esplanade car park. The bank will move to another new

office building instead. Those behind the Waterfront scheme for an

International Business Centre say they'll now have to re`think plans

for the site. Social security contributions could

be going up for Jersey workers in two years' time. Most employees pay

about 6% of their earnings currently but that could rise as people live

longer and the island's pension bill increases.

Disability rights campaigners in Guernsey have some help from their

Canadian counterparts this week. The States has agreed a disability

strategy but is still some way off drafting actual laws, as Mike

Wilkins reports. Remember this, public pressure

helping to push through the island's Disability Strategy in the States?

That was months ago, so what's changed? Well, not much yet, but

that's not to say nothing's happening. You are not going to see

loads of stuff changing overnight. Actually most of the change will

happen when we managed to implement attitude. That is part of the

protest and the state strategy says that the main objective is changing

attitude. When we start managing that, and of course, we have some

legislation that provides impetus, then we will see change. Research is

taking place before proposals go back to the States for a law to

prevent discrimination against disabled people. Guernsey is turning

its back on the UK approach to disability legislation and is keener

to emulate other countries. One of the consequences of the UK model is

it is likely to be far more litigious. A lot of it revolves

around what the definition is of someone who is disabled. The social

law would help to avoid a lot of litigation. At a conference in St

Peter Port, help is on hand from Canada, a country viewed at the

forefront of disability rights. The important message from Canada is you

save a lot of money if people are in the workforce and participating in

society and not being institutionalised unnecessarily. So

while the wait goes on, with a little help from Canada, the legal

wheels could soon be in motion. That's it from me. BBC Radio

Guernsey and Jersey David Braine has the weather next and the national

forecast follows the drive story to tell over the

next few days, but lasts into the weekend and next week. There could

be cloud around tomorrow, it could be hit and miss who gets the cloud

and who gets on the start. There could be mysterious overnight, but

bands of cloud will come and go through the night. `` there could be

mist overnight. Tomorrow night `` tomorrow morning, patchy cloud, but

the sunshine will win through the afternoon, giving good temperatures.

That will not change through the weekend. Saturday and Sunday, both

days are dry with gentle winds coming off the sea. See around 10

degrees at the moment, so not very warm on the coast. `` C

temperatures. weather stays with us into the

weekend and for the London Marathon as well.

Parts of Australia are about to be hit by a powerful cyclone bringing

whether that is just about as bad as it gets with winds gusting over 100

miles an hour and potentially flooding rain. First of all, back

home our weather could not be more different. Settled weather generally

for the next few days including the weekend. Tonight temperatures are

falling sharply and it is a cold night in northern areas. In the

countryside it will be down to just two or three Celsius. Some pockets

of fog are likely. Showers in western Scotland, but generally

there will be some dry and fine weather