Great Yarmouth is supporting GENERATE, a new partnership that brings together regional business and political leaders to focus on securing future investment and developing of the energy sector in Norfolk and Suffolk.
All the main regional agencies are behind the initiative, including both Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils, East Suffolk Council and North Norfolk District Council.
The New Anglia LEP is also involved and the partnership has access to the experienced supply chain through the regional industry body, the East of England Energy Group and the Norfolk & Suffolk All Energy Industry Council.
The partnership is focused on connecting opportunities to people by capitalising on the region’s position adjacent the English Channel and the southern end of the North Sea. Cllr Smith said GENERATE is starting to gain traction and select its target operators.
The East of England can offer a diverse energy mix, supply chain excellence, centres of innovation, national and international transport links and a committed group of agencies driving clean growth.
The overall sell is that the region offers the space and ideal conditions for a wealth of innovative energy developments.
GENERATE sits in the context of the government’s vision for offshore wind to power every home in the UK by 2030. That will require almost £50bn in investment and the equivalent of one turbine to be installed every weekday for the whole of the next decade.
The wind energy industry has become one of the country’s most prized industrial success stories.
In the past 10 years the capacity of the UK’s offshore turbines has grown from 1GW to almost 10GW at the start of 2020, and building costs have been driven down by almost two-thirds. With energy security front of mind, GENERATE partners are keen to push home their advantage.
Chris Sargisson is an advocate and believes the ‘Green Coast’ identity calls to mind the origins of Silicon Valley or the trickle down economic benefits from oil and gas in Aberdeen. What’s required, he says, is new infrastructure and without delay.
Iain Hill of Bidwells stressed that the towns are as critical as cities for the East – and coordination between them is vital.
The towns are as critical as cities for the East – and coordination between them is vital."
He questions how Great Yarmouth can align with centres like Norwich and Cambridge – and whether is there a need for an overseeing regional strategy, to avoid constantly fighting for the same investment pots.
Cllr Smith said that localism is working, and that while the authorities talk regularly, more is gained from decisions being made on the ground, that “we don’t want a massive unitary authority” – and that what exactly is on the table with devolution has never been made clear.
The availability of former port land to support the sector is a plus, but as yet the region is under the radar.
As Sheila Oxtoby said, “We need to be in Parliament, making sure that every person knows what we’ve got to offer”.
As to whether Yarmouth, or anywhere in the UK, can ever be a significant manufacturing base for offshore wind was up for debate: even allowing for shipping costs, it’s still around 30% cheaper to bring everything in from China than to build in the UK.
But while securing a “component manufacturer” may be a challenge, it remains a key ambition. However, it is still important to develop a cluster and provide for lower tier suppliers.
Being more than a banner attraction, like Morecambe’s Eden Project or the Blackpool Central leisure development, much is being poured into the economic potential of the green energy coast.
We can be aspirational about knowing that there will be spinoffs, there are thousands of businesses that will seed and grow as a consequence of being on the green energy coast” – carbon capture, nitrogen battery storage and eco-homes being other areas of opportunity as well as offshore wind."
