The UK Green Investment Bank (UK GIB) officially opens for business today with £3 billion of government funds to invest in the green economy.
After receiving state aid approval from the European Commission last month, the Bank is kicking off activities with two investments: £8 million for a project in the North East of England to generate energy from waste and £5 million to support a retrofit plan of building company Kingspan’s UK industrial facilities.
The energy from waste project, which is expected to attract a further £8 million in matching private sector funding, will see construction of an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in Teesside, the first of six planned for the next five year.
Meanwhile, the retrofit project at Kingspan’s Holywell factory in North Wales, which is first to be supported under UK GIB’s £100 million non-domestic energy efficiency investment programme, will install energy metering, building management systems, efficient lighting and other measures.
Overall, the package of refurbishments designed and carried out by Johnson Controls will save the company up to 15% of its energy consumption.
The investment via fund manager Greensphere Capital is part of an £80 million UK GIB programme to support small waste projects.
“The Green Investment Bank – a key coalition pledge – is now a reality,” commented Business Secretary Vince Cable today in a statement. “£3 billion of government money will leverage private sector capital to fund projects in priority sectors from offshore wind to waste and non domestic energy efficiency, helping to deliver our commitment to create jobs and growth right across the UK.”
Energy Secretary Ed Davey also hails the start of UK GIB, saying that it will kick-start energy-efficiency and low-carbon projects, allowing the green economy “to blossom”.
The Bank will initially focus its investment on three priority sectors: offshore wind, waste and non-domestic energy efficiency; but it will also pursue biofuels, biomass power, carbon capture and storage, marine energy and renewable heat.
“The Green Investment Bank has the potential to be a game-changing component of the UK’s low carbon economy, and a profitable centre of excellence in specialist and renewable investment,” adds its chair Lord Smith.
The Bank will initially focus its investment on three priority sectors: offshore wind, waste and non-domestic energy efficiency; but it will also pursue biofuels, biomass power, carbon capture and storage, marine energy and renewable heat.
Ben Caldecott, head of policy at environmental investment management firm Climate Change Capital, says the focus is welcome because of the Bank’s small budget.
“Over time there will be many other opportunities for UK GIB to spur investment into the modernisation of the UK energy system, but in the near-term it must focus on what’s possible given its relatively small capitalisation,” he says. “The immediate priority… is clear: catalysing institutional investor investment into offshore wind and domestic energy efficiency by helping the market structure and issue green asset-backed bonds.”
For further information:
www.bis.gov.uk/
www.bis.gov.uk/greeninvestmentbank
www.climatechangecapital.com/
Related stories:
Energy companies’ UK investment hits 20-year high (29-Oct)
EU approves state aid funding for UK’s Green Investment Bank (17-Oct)
Chief executive of UK’s Green Investment Bank named (28-Sept)
UK government unveils £100 million fund for green investment (6-Aug)
Article source: http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/i/5585/
