News

Clean energy bid

(4 July 2007)

Durham University is playing a significant role in tabling the North East bid to lead the UK's billion pound clean energy development programme.

Today (13 June), a high-powered delegation visits the North East to assess the region's bid. The bid's backers say that success could mean the North East reclaiming its title of 'energy capital' of the UK, just two years after deep coal mining ceased. Experts predict that geothermal, wind, solar and tidal power and bio-fuels will be the boom industries of the future, along with new ways of using fossil fuels like coal without causing so much harm to the environment. The North East has already made a shortlist of five to host the Energy Technologies Institute, which will spearhead national research and development. An effective programme is essential if the UK is to meet its commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change. The bid has been put forth by a consortium of Durham, Newcastle and Northumbria Universities, the New and Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC) at Blyth in Northumberland and the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) in the Tees Valley, with strong support from the regional development agency One NorthEast and the regional Science and Industry Council. Examples cited by the consortium in its initial bid document include wind farms; hydroelectric power; solar, tidal and geothermal energy; small-scale generation systems that can be linked to the national grid; more efficient electric motors; fuel cells for sustainable vehicles and transport management systems. The Government has pledged £500m to the ETI over the next ten years and says it is forging partnerships with the private sector, including large energy companies, to double the money available. Clean energy projects already taking place at Durham University include one led by the Department of Engineering, which is testing the next generation of wind turbines in the on-site wind tunnel, which collects and analyses data on their effectiveness in adjacent computers. The prototype ‘vertical axis’ turbines are about one-metre high and, unlike many turbines, rotate regardless of wind direction. Professor Chris Higgins, Vice-Chancellor of Durham University, said: 'This Institute would act as a catalyst for change in the energy sector, not only in the region but also nationally and internationally. 'The North East has some of the world’s leading technological, research and industrial experts already sharing their knowledge and working together on a suite of alternative solutions to our traditional sources of energy. 'This Institute would provide a vehicle to further develop these technologies and to recruit and nurture new talent, thus powering a new energy revolution globally.' Newcastle University and NaREC are hosting today's fact-finding visit by a team of executives from energy companies Shell and E.ON, industrial equipment manufacturer Caterpillar and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (the Government's research funding agency). Further delegations are expected to come to the North East before the winner of the bidding process is announced in early Autumn. The document also stresses the benefits of the Newcastle Science City and Northern Way initiatives, both of which were launched by the Government to encourage the public and private sectors to work together to stimulate regional economic development. The other four shortlisted bidders for the ETI are the Midland Consortium, North West Consortium, Scottish Partnership and Sheffield University.