Greener Path to Power ; in Association With Gentoo
YOU can forget the old images of the North East as a filthy industrial centre with chimneys throwing out smoke and tides washing coal dust on the blackened beaches.
The last 30 years has seen a revolution in the way business treats the environment and the 21st Century has brought a recognition of the region as a European leader in green power and clean technology.
Heavy industry has been transformed and nature reserves flourish next to Teesside chemical plants and Tyneside’s heavy industry.
And as fuel bills continue to soar and the preservation of the natural environment stays near the top of the political agenda the North East is showing the rest of the UK how to turn its technological expertise to good use.
Businesses of all types are vying to prove their environmental credentials as you will read on the pages that follow.
And the production of energy working with the environment rather than against it is now a fast-growing and key sector of the region’s economy.
This summer the Government unveiled a plan to install thousands of wind turbines at sea which is hoped to boost the region’s economy by pounds 3bn and create up to 30,000 manufacturing jobs.
Energy minister Malcolm Wicks said the region was ready to “seize the moment” offered by a massive expansion of renewable energy, with offshore turbines set to be built by 2020.
He met North East firms at Gateshead’s Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in July to discuss the opportunities offered by the green energy revolution which is designed to cut pollution and the size of the UK’s carbon footprint.
And he visited the New and Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC), in Blyth, to officially unveil the building and equipment where Californian company Clipper Windpower will develop the world’s largest wind turbine that will be almost 10 times taller than the Angel of the North.
“There is kind of a myth in Britain, maybe particularly down here in the South, that somehow Britain is no longer a manufacturing power whereas we are actually the sixth largest manufacturing industry in the world,” he said.
“There are 5,000 manufacturing businesses in the North East alone, which employ 200,000 people in the region which is about 20% of the region’s workforce.”
He said manufacturing was “alive and well and kicking” in the region and well-placed with its history to make the most of the expansion of renewable energy, which could include solar and wave power.
The Government has set ambitious targets of 15% of all energy coming from renewable sources by 2020, which will require a tenfold increase in such production.
Mr Wicks said: “Manufacturing is not history. It is the present and the future in the North East. This new era of manufacturing new technologies that will help us tackle climate change is there for the North East to seize the moment and I think it will.”
His predictions come after the Crown Estate, the agency which owns the seabed around Britain, revealed 11 sites have been earmarked for new offshore wind farms, the largest of which will be off the North East coast.
The region is already one of Europe’s biggest producers of biodiesel fuel made from crops with a cluster of plants in Teesside and companies based in the area opening more around the country.
Plans are under way for a pounds 400m alternative energy plant at Teesport in Middesbrough which would create enough electricity to power 600,000 homes. MGT Power’s plans, which would also create 600 jobs, follow similar plans by power giant SembCorp to erect a similar station near Redcar.
And on a smaller scale farms across the North East are turning to wood-burning generators to use up their waste and power their businesses.
NEWHeat, a free service supported by regional development agency One NorthEast, sends out teams to businesses to look at their needs, assess whether biomass heating is right for them and produce a feasibility report.
Project director David Clubb said: “Around 90 businesses have had site visits and around 12 of those have gone on to express an interest. The technology is fine for use for domestic level right up to industrial users. We are specifically targeting businesses and social enterprises.”
The NEWHeat team has also worked with the new Sainsbury’s supermarket at Alnwick which has installed a wood-pellet boiler to heat the store. Other clients include Matfen Hall Hotel in Northumberland, which is looking into installing a 500kw wood-chip system to heat the hotel and pool, using wood from its estate.
And the region has been chosen as the UK base for the development of state-of-the-art biodiesel systems – which could provide low- cost, clean energy for community power schemes.
Testing has begun at the New and Renewable Energy Centre (NAREC) Clothier Laboratories in Blyth on a new generation of 100% biodiesel- fuelled combined heat and power engines (CHP), in the UK’s first demonstration project of its kind.
Micro CHP is particularly suitable for commercial buildings with significant heating and power requirements, such as swimming baths, communal residences such as care homes and university campuses, and in rural areas.
Nick Brown, minister for the North East, said: “The knowledge which will be gained from research into this area will help increase the overall prosperity of our region and is a wonderful example of the North East’s commitment to leading the way in exploring and mastering emerging new energy technologies.”
The 70-strong team of specialists at NaRec are leading the country in environmental energy research and has clients ranging from industry to councils and investors looking to develop green technology.
“Businesses of all types are vying to prove their environmental credentials
“Manufacturing is not history. It is the present and the future in the North East
(c) 2008 The Journal – Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.