Energy is one of the most important sectors in the Humber, with the region often being referred to as the UK’s ‘Energy Estuary’.
The Humber accounts for nearly 20% of the country’s electricity generation, a third of its refined fuel and over a fifth of its natural gas imports. It is also at the centre of the transition from fossil fuels to renewables and lower emission technologies, being home to the world’s biggest offshore wind farm under construction, significant international ports that are capitalising on renewable energy, and some of Europe’s largest biofuels and energy-from-waste plants.
The Humber also has significant ambitions in this sector, including the aspiration to become the world’s first net-zero carbon industrial cluster, deploying carbon capture and storage and hydrogen production at scale – protecting the long-term sustainability of its industrial cluster. This is a key ambition set out in the LEP’s local industrial strategy.
In 2019 the Humber LEP worked with stakeholders to produce a Humber Local Energy Strategy which outlines and analyses the region’s key challenges and sets out tangible projects which can help to address them – from utilising brownfield land for solar panels and waste industrial heat for district heating networks, to improving energy efficiency in schools and decarbonising rural off-grid homes. The strategy will be published early in 2020.
In 2019 the Humber hosted the first ever Energy & Clean Growth in the Northern Powerhouse conference & exhibition, a two day event which brought over 800 stakeholders together to discuss major energy and decarbonisation topics and consider how the North can collaborate better on these issues to solidify its role as the UK’s powerhouse.
Download a copy of the Humber’s Energy Strategy here: Humber LEP Energy Strategy.
If you would like more information or to discuss an energy related issue, please contact the Humber LEP via phone or email.