Member Article

Government announces plans for Green Investment Bank

The Government has announced plans for the next steps of the Green Investment Bank which is set to facilitate the UK’s transition to a green economy.

The priority sectors for the Bank were provisionally named as offshore wind generation, commercial and industrial waste processing, waste generation energy, non-domestic energy efficiency and support for the Green Deal.

The business secretary Vince Cable said: “There is a great opportunity for British businesses to lead the transition to a green economy and stake a claim on a sector that has massive potential for growth.

The location of the bank will be decided in March 2012, and the government will now consider the merits of each potential location using a strict criteria. This will include finding the specialist staff, proximity to investment bodies, project developers and green technology providers, and cost effectiveness.

He added: “I want to set up the Bank as soon as possible, so it can start accelerating investments in these key sectors and help British companies take advantage of these opportunities. Setting out the priorities for the Bank and establishing UK Green Investments for April 2012 are a major step forward.”

Alongside the Green Investment Bank, Dr Cable also announced the creation of a new team, UK green Investments, which will drive the UK’s green infrastructure until the Bank is formally established.

They will have access to the £100 million fund to invest in smaller waste infrastructure projects on a fully commercial basis.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .