Business and local government leaders from the region today launched the East of England Energy Zone, a new and unique programme created to highlight the region’s offer to the oil, gas, wind and nuclear energy industries.
Business and local government leaders from the region today launched the East of England Energy Zone, a new and unique programme created to highlight the region’s offer to the oil, gas, wind and nuclear energy industries.
The East of England Energy Zone has a powerful offer for the oil, gas, wind and nuclear energy industries and is expected to attract £31 billion of investment over the next 8 years, creating significant opportunities for businesses and jobs for the region.
The programme offers valuable business support such as simplified planning and business rate relief, in addition to access to a well-established and experienced supply chain and workforce ideally located for the southern North Sea.
James Gray, Inward Investment Director, East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) for the East of England Energy Zone said: “This is a time of unprecedented growth in offshore wind yet the ongoing investment in all-energy in the North Sea and around the world still dominates.
“We want to ensure that companies investing in all-energy are fully aware of the real competitive advantage that locating and operating in the East of England Energy Zone can bring.”
The East of England Energy Zone is already home to an energy industry that spans all areas of the sector with 50 years’ experience in offshore and marine operations in the southern North Sea.
Mr Gray continued: “Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft were recently granted Enterprise Zone status – there is a significant concentration of energy sector infrastructure and activity within a 70km radius of these two key ports.”
Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft are the closest deep-water ports to where £50 billion of capital expenditure will be invested in offshore wind, nuclear, gas storage and platform decommissioning over the next 20 years.
“The region has already been designated by Government a Centre for Offshore Renewable Engineering (CORE), one of only five identified across the country” continued Mr. Gray. “With its location, infrastructure and experience, the East of England is ideally situated to support growth and innovation within the energy industry.”
Around 6,200 businesses are currently active from all energy sectors including oil and gas, civil nuclear, wind and biomass, and they are responsible for a total annual turnover of £12.9 billion. Approximately 103,400 people are presently employed in the region, a figure that is set to increase with the new industry driven skills programme, Skills for Energy, hosted by EEEGR.
In addition to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, the east of England Energy Zone is home to a number of other port facilities with Wells and Kings Lynn in Norfolk, Ipswich in Suffolk and Harwich in Essex, all offering easy access to the Hornsea, Dogger Bank and many Round 2 developments.
The East of England Energy Zone has been created through a partnership of: Norfolk County Council, Suffolk County Council, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Waveney District Council, North Norfolk District Council, the East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) and the Chambers of Commerce of Norfolk and Suffolk.
Anyone interested in finding out more about the East of England Energy Zone and the benefits of locating there can contact James Gray on +44 (0)1493 446535 or jg@eeegr.com.
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