Last month, North East Mayor Kim McGuinness saw 270 delegates from across the world attend a ‘green energy’ and innovation summit delivered in partnership with Lloyds Banking Group and the Office for Investment (OfI). The summit followed
Lloyds Banking Group announcing that over £1 billion of new finance is available for businesses across the North East in 2026, thereby helping firms of all sizes ‘to invest, scale, and compete as the region positions itself at the forefront of the UK’s clean energy transition’.
Moreover, the Mayor said that following the Government’s recent AR7 announcement of its biggest ever offshore wind auction, the North East ‘sits in prime position to take advantage of the new opportunities released to service major new farms at Dogger South and Berwick Bank from ports at Blyth, on the Tyne and on the Wear’.
Delegates at the event also heard that the North East offers: marine access to 80% of the UK’s offshore wind farms in 24hr or less; a fully integrated supply chain spanning everything from turbine blades to ‘subsea engineering and innovation’; more than 400m of deepwater quayside at the Tyne, Blyth, and Sunderland ports; more than 200 hectares of quay-linked development land ready for investment; and a £15 million investment programme of investment by Mayor Kim McGuinness in dedicated training centres for ‘green energy’ skills at Wallsend and Blyth.
Kim McGuinness said: “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, and one we need to seize to help shape a brighter, sustainable future for our region. The North East can lead the UK’s ‘green energy’ transition, not only by powering the nation but also by creating thousands of jobs and securing long-term investment for our communities. We have the assets, the skills, and the infrastructure; and through our partnerships with Lloyds Banking Group, the OfI, the Crown Estate, and our North East Ports, together we can turn this vision into reality.”
The summit was set up after the Mayor last year agreed a joint initiative with Lloyds Banking Group and the Office for Investment to unlock private sector funding and directly support the region’s ‘green energy’ sector, with long-term objectives to create jobs and drive economic growth.
Investors and developers seeking further information, data, or visit arrangements, can contact Invest North East England via the website
here.