£66 million offshore renewable energy investment for the North East

The Government has announced a £66 million boost for the North East offshore energy sector as part of its Offshore Energy Industrial Strategy.  The announcement came as industry body, RenewableUK, revealed that the UK’s total onshore and offshore wind capacity had passed 10 gigawatts, providing enough power for the equivalent of 5.5 million homes.

Under the new strategy the North East is set to benefit from public investment from two primary sources.  The largest tranche is £46 million over five years for the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (Orec) aimed at providing expert support to organisations developing offshore wind, wave and tidal technologies.  Orec has offices at Narec in Blyth, Northumberland, which has some of the UK’s best testing and research facilities for renewable energy.

The remaining £20 million is being allocated to a project called GROW Offshore Wind which is aimed at helping manufacturers in the UK supply chain to win more contracts from the offshore wind industry sector.  A number of North East businesses are highlighted in the document including TAG Energy Solutions in Billingham, Heerema and JDR Cables, both in Hartlepool, and MPI Offshore and MC Ware, in Stokesley.

The Government hopes the strategy will leverage in up to £7 billion of investment and support up to 30,000 ‘full time equivalent’ jobs.  The North East LEP and TeesValley Unlimited will play a leading role in bringing investment to the region.

For more information, help or advice please contact our Energy Team on 0191 211 7777 or email [email protected].