People are urged to have their say on plans to put the county at the forefront of the UK’s drive to tackle climate change.
Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership has launched a consultation on its Clean Energy Strategy, a plan to both generate green energy in the region, as well as cut carbon emissions from communities – in turn creating up to 13,000 new green jobs.
The blueprint sets out how Cumbria will make a significant contribution to the UK’s low carbon energy future, building on its current status as a net exporter to the national grid. It details how the region has the potential to deliver up to 9GW of clean energy generation by 2040 – the equivalent of around nine million homes by today’s levels of electricity consumption.
The Clean Energy Strategy details how Cumbria can build on both its natural assets and industrial heritage to achieve several key ambitions. The LEP says the goal is to deliver a power system of abundant, cheap renewables by:
- Advancing offshore wind: Cumbria’s specialist manufacturers supporting the expansion of offshore wind, already forming over 10% of the UK’s offshore capacity.
- Driving the growth of low-carbon hydrogen: Building on opportunities to generate green hydrogen using renewable electricity.
- Delivering new and advanced nuclear power: Including securing investment in new nuclear technology, including SMRs and the chance to site the first STEP fusion plant at Moorside.
- Investing in carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS): Using the depleted Morecambe Bay Gas Fields to capture and store carbon emissions, helping decarbonise our industries.
Jo Lappin, chief executive of Cumbria LEP, said: “Cumbria is already a powerhouse, punching well above its weight as a net exporter of renewable power to the nation. This strategy seeks to build on those green foundations, significantly expanding our clean energy infrastructure to create up to 13,000 new jobs and sustainable economic growth for our communities.
“From generating green hydrogen and becoming home to first-of-kind fusion technology, to capturing carbon and expanding offshore wind capacity, the strategy ensures Cumbria will stay at the forefront of the green economy.
“It demonstrates how Cumbria’s unique natural assets and industrial heritage will provide the platform to become a major contributor to the UK’s net zero future and levelling up ambitions, securing significant investment and new opportunities for the region. We encourage everyone to take a look and let us know their thoughts.”
Positioning Cumbria as a test bed for new technologies is also an ambition of the strategy, with investment in research and development underpinning energy innovation in the county, the LEP added.
In 2020, Cumbria accounted for 4.3 per cent of installed UK capacity and 5.6 per cent of all UK electricity generation – well ahead of its share of the UK population (0.7 per cent) and land mass (2.8 per cent).
Low carbon energy is currently generated in the region from offshore and onshore wind, biomass, solar power, anaerobic digestion and hydro power.
