Investors to boost North East green energy growth
Aug 24 2010 by Iain Laing, The Journal
THE growth of green industries in the North East is set to be fuelled by up to £200m of investment from some of Britain’s wealthiest families.
The National Renewable Energy Centre (Narec), in Blyth, Northumberland, has struck an exclusive deal with a group of investors interested in ploughing money into the sector.
The agreement, with London-based Ashberg, is aimed at providing the finance to help renewable energy projects get off the ground quicker than is currently possible.
That is part of a wider strategy to turn the North East into a world-leading hub for green industries, which Narec is already at the heart of.
Ashberg represents individuals and families who have amassed at least £50m in wealth and are seeking business opportunities. The deal with Narec is aimed at finding investment opportunities in the green energy sector to help commercialise research and development projects.
It is also hoped the finance will be able to plug funding gaps that could prevent such schemes becoming a reality.
Dr Alan Lowdon, Narec director of technology and innovation, told The Journal the deal with Ashberg would further enhance both the company and the region’s position as a world leader in renewable energy.
He said: “We see this as a fantastic opportunity to develop technology. We have here a dedicated fund which, subject to meeting certain criteria, will allow us to get projects into the funding market much more quickly.”
He said that initially funding would be targeted at smaller technology projects and would see around £30m invested in growing the businesses.
But he added: “There would be a larger fund which would receive these projects when they have been built up and you are probably talking about a couple of hundred million pounds.
“It’s been quite a difficult process to fund our own projects, quite slow, but we have funded the research and development. This fund will help commercialise that research and could obviously make a huge difference.”
