News Article

ONE NORTHEAST today (9th April) welcomed the launch of the Bio-Energy Capital Grants Scheme.

The announcement was made today by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), who expect to allocate £4m to businesses in the industrial, commercial and community sector looking to install biomass boilers or engage in other renewable projects combining heat and power.

The grant will be administered by AEA Energy and Environment, part of AEA Technology plc, and the maximum single award is £100,000 per installation.

One North East has identified renewable energy as an important growth industry for the region over the next ten years.  The Agency works with businesses across the region to be smarter in their use of energy, drive down fuel bills and reduce the impact of industry on the environment. 

With schemes like the Energy Resource Efficiency (ERE) programme, which is run by industry experts who work with firms to understand their energy use and find ways to improve current systems, the North East is leading the way in developing renewable energy resources.

Ray Thompson, Energy & Environment Pillar Manager at One North East said: “We are delighted with today’s announcement as this grant will provide financial support to North East firms looking to install renewable alternatives to heating and powering their premises.

“Rising energy bills and responsibility for your carbon footprint are burning issues for businesses.  This grant will provide additional assistance to firms looking to tackle these important concerns and will further complement a number of other projects we already have in the region.

“For instance, the NEWHeat scheme, which was launched in 2007 to provide technical advice and support to businesses looking to adopt wood heat as a renewable energy source and develop biomass projects, will now be able to provide additional support by guiding firms through the process of applying for the new bio-energy capital grants.

“I very much look forward to seeing more businesses across the region access these all important renewable energy alternatives.”

Businesses looking to find out more about the Bio-Energy Capital Grants Scheme should visit www.bioenergycapitalgrants.org.uk

For more information on NEWHeat, please call on 0845 4786 300 or visit www.newheat.org
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For more information please contact: Melanie Armstrong, press office, One North East on Tel: (0191) 2296894. e-mail: melanie.armstrong@onenortheast.co.uk

Notes to Editors:
One North East is the regional development agency for North East England.
It is leading sustainable economic growth in the region through a targeted programme of investment of around £280m per year to get 70,000 more people into work and create 22,000 new businesses by 2016.
In the last financial year 2006-07, One North East:
• Created 17,110 new jobs in the region
• Created or attracted 3,432 new businesses
• Helped 15,851 businesses to improve their performance
• Attracted £246.8m worth of investment to regenerate deprived areas, more than half of this investment secured from the private sector
• Regenerated 62.3 hectares of brownfield land
• Helped 70,242 people to develop their skills