Powerhouse at sea could usher in new energy era

Apr 16 2009 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

A NEW power firm could be formed as energy bosses look to see who will win permission to build Britain's biggest wind farm off the North East coast.

Energy giants are bidding to put up thousands of wind turbines on land 100 miles out of the mouth of the Tyne, and some of the region’s leading voices in renewable energy are hoping an unprecedented plan to set up a North East grid will eventually be followed up.

A consortium which had hopes of powering the region is now hoping to secure work supplying renewable energy direct to Tyneside councils and large companies.

The offshore wind initiative comes as energy experts at Blyth consider ways to roll out a series of “localised electrical networks” which will see small towns and parts of North city centres powered from renewable sources. Researchers at the New and Renewable Energy Centre, NaREC have looked at ways of powering new developments and believe towns such as Morpeth could one day be almost independent from the National Grid.

Staff at the Government agency which owns the seabeds off the UK coast, Crown Estate, is assessing several bids to build turbines on Dogger Bank in the North Sea. A Northumberland wind consortium had put together a bid to buy up the land, and had spoken to development bosses at One North East and NaREC as they gathered support.

Regeneration officers believe one reason the consortium failed was because Crown Estate refused to split the site into more affordable sections, leaving the fledgling energy company unable to find the cash for a site thought to be too expensive even for some of the bigger power companies.