South West designated as UK's first Low Carbon Economic Area

Lord Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, named the South West of England as the UK's first Low Carbon Economic Area at the launch of a new Low Carbon Industrial Strategy in London on the 15th of July. The strategy is part of the UK Government’s white paper named the Low Carbon Transition Plan, which aims at reaching the national target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 34% from 1990 levels by 2020.

Under the new plans, the South West will become a global leader in marine energy. The UK Government will spend £19.5 million as part of a £100 million two-year investment programme in marine renewables. The Government investment includes £9.5 million for the South West Regional Development Agency's Wave Hub project, which could create more than 1,800 jobs in the UK. The project has the capacity to generate 20MW of green electricity with the potential to be scaled up to 50MW in the future. A further £10 million was made available for the RDA to support other marine energy projects in the South West.

The Low Carbon Transition Plan is also accompanied by a Renewable Energy Strategy detailing how the UK will meet its 15% target, and a paper on Low Carbon Transport which outlines the transport sector's contribution to greenhouse gas reductions.

To view the white paper in full, click here