Policy for Growth

Debate between Nigel Evans and Ian Swales

Thursday 11th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Ian Swales (Redcar) (LD)]

I should like to speak about growth through green technology, on which the Government have clear policies. I was very pleased to hear their announcements about the regional growth fund, carbon capture and storage, technology centres and investments in ports for wind technology.

I know that some people will be cynical about whether green growth and manufacturing is possible, but I shall speak about what is happening in Teesside to fill the House with a bit of enthusiasm for the future. Many companies there are already operating in the area of green technology or are about to start doing so, and I shall name a few.

Many people think that wind technology is the only area of green technology, and indeed there are companies in Teesside involved in it. Tata Steel, TAG Energy Solutions and Heerema Fabrication are all making wind turbine structures, and MPI Offshore, which runs turbine installation vessels, recently managed to put up 100 offshore turbines in under 100 days at Thanet.

There are also wave technology companies. Three companies—JDR Cables, CTC Marine and Brown Ltd—recently joined together to put in the new wave hub off Cornwall. In the area of fuel and energy, we have Ensus, which has the largest bioethanol plant in Europe; Harvest Energy, the UK’s largest biodiesel manufacturer; SITA, which has the largest energy from waste facility in the UK and has recently announced an extension of it; INEOS Bio, which has Europe’s first advanced bioethanol from waste plant; and Sembcorp, with the first large-scale wood biomass power station.

MGT has announced that it will spend £500 million on a new biomass power station, and Northumbrian Water has an anaerobic digestion facility that processes waste from an equivalent population of 1.9 million people. This week, a company called DRD Power has announced technology that should see an end to cooling towers in this country, because it will generate electricity from lower-temperature hot water.

There are many other companies involved. Greenstar makes recycled food-grade plastic packaging that is used by Marks and Spencer. The world’s largest tyre reclamation plant is also about to start. I could go on, and I make no apology for going through that list, because those are exciting developments.

There is a tremendous cluster of expertise in Teesside, and the Government should encourage it as much as possible. Teesside has been an industrial powerhouse for more than a century. Traditional industries, such as ship and bridge building, bulk chemicals and steel have declined, but we are now seeing exciting developments, which follow growth in offshore technology.

Local expertise can be built around such clusters, and that is obviously already happening. As we have just heard, joint bids can be made for projects. Local education establishments are focusing on the skills that are needed and are creating a system of apprenticeships to develop those skills.

Projects can also be implemented more quickly on Teesside. SITA’s UK technical manager recently said that major projects can be achieved on Teesside in less than half the time it takes in many other places.

As a result of the clustering that I mentioned, Teesside is also a great place for carbon capture and storage, and I urge the Government to consider industrial areas such as Teesside for carbon capture and storage grids and not to look just at coal-fired power stations.

Given those outstanding opportunities, the Government need to continue to help. They should carry on the seed funding provided by One North East for things such as the Tees valley industrial programme. I welcome the establishment of the Tees Valley local enterprise partnership and the regional growth fund.

The Government urgently need to clarify the long-term banding policy for renewable energy, especially biomass, and quickly to establish the green investment bank. Given all the expertise on Teesside, I recommend that the bank is put there.

I emphasise that all the projects mentioned are private sector projects. Government involvement could bring enormous leverage. In the end, many investors are ready to finance this new green technology. I recently met an investor who said, “Come to me with projects of a minimum of £20 million”—that was a minimum, not a maximum.

I am sure that the House would like to join me in congratulating those involved in the progress on green technology on Teesside—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

Order.