Manx Utilities spent £75,900 on a media campaign, leaflets and venues for public meetings to discuss its proposed wind farm.
Chair John Wannenbugh provided the figures in Tynwald this week.
The controversial plans, while supported by the government and proponents of the island having its own clean energy supply, has been criticised and opposed by some residents, particularly those in the south.
Mr Wannenburgh said that £8,722 was spent on the media campaign to support the engagement for its environmental impact assessment, £7,572 for the production and distribution of leaflets.
The rest (£59,606)was spent on “other supporting elements, such as exhibition material, virtual reality experience, consultant attendance and venue hire”.
Despite implied criticism from Jason Moorhouse (Arbory, Castletown and Malew) about the spending, the Douglas North MHK said that “financial prudence is one of the strengths of the officers and of the board, nothing gets spent without being cleared”.
He added: “Manx Utilities is a multi-million pound turnover organisation, publishes an annual report and financial statements annually providing full transparency on financials.
“In relation to this project, Manx Utilities continues to work with the Treasury and DEFA, the latter from an energy policy perspective, to understand and mitigate risks of acceptable levels and establish an appropriate funding route for this project, as well as for The energy transition program as a whole.”
While questioning Mr Wannenbrugh, Mr Moorhouse admitted he had not responded to a survey about the wind farm as he had missed the deadline.
5 Comments