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A new £4.6 million fund has been announced by Business Secretary Vince Cable for the Tees Valley Industrial Programme, to support 14 energy projects in the North East.  They will include a Carbon Capture and Storage programme and a Marine low carbon rig. The funding is expected to create more than 1,700 full time jobs.

?These projects will create a wealth of opportunities for local businesses and create new highly-skilled jobs,? said Cable during his visit. The Business Secretary has agreed to provide a further £300,000 to support further skills training as part of a package that TVIP will administer.  He also visited the new £15 million marine test rig at the National Renewable Energy Centre in Blyth, which is conducting research and development into low carbon marine technologies ? a unique facility with no comparable open-access R&D centres anywhere else in the world.

?It is vital that British-based companies are supported to take advantage of new opportunities in the renewables sector and the testing facilities here are key to encouraging more investment in the UK,? said Cable. The site will test and demonstrate up to 20 next generation offshore wind turbines contributing 100MWs to the national grid.