Winning business
Sam Visser finds out what support and services are being offered to the Northwest’s renewable energy sector.
Since it was set up in 2000 Envirolink Northwest, with the help of funding from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and local authorities, aims to improve competitiveness of the region’s energy and environmental technologies and services (ETS) sector. Each year it provides sector and market intelligence to more than 3,500 energy and environmental supply chain businesses across the Northwest and also provides Northwest energy and environmental supply chain businesses with information and networking opportunities. As the region’s leading ETS business support organisation, Envirolink Northwest’s services are wide ranging and include:
- Provision of market intelligence and sharing of best practice;
- Individual technical business support; and
- Promotion, networking and collaboration to create opportunities to develop technologies and engage the market.
In order to provide the various services to companies and suppliers in the sector, Envirolink Northwest works in three distinct teams: research and commercialisation; market development; and sector development. The research and commercialisation team helps provide a link between academia and the private sector, and will support the promotion and demonstration of innovative environmental technologies. For instance, it is working with the NWDA to deliver the Carbon Challenge Fund, a fund that aims to support and promote projects that have demonstrable carbon savings, signify the development of a low carbon economy and exemplify best practice in the move towards a low carbon economy. The fund was open to organisations, associations, groups and charities in both the public and private sectors who may receive up to 50 per cent grant funding.
Specialist
The market development team provides technical support and information to help overcome market barriers to the deployment of environmental technologies. The team provides specialist support for renewable energy developments including help with finance, connecting to the grid and achieving planning consent. For instance, the team contributed to a recent Planning Workshop held by BWEA in the North West.
Solutions
The third team - the Sector Development team - works with regional suppliers providing low carbon solutions. Its aim is to develop the region’s strengths and capabilities, encourage and support innovation and link solution providers to end users regionally, nationally and internationally. So, for instance this team will work with new start ups on how best to promote themselves and help find potential partners for them. “This team is all about stimulating the suppliers and identifying where we can have a positive intervention and best promote what they do,” says Dave Hall, manager of sector development - energy at Envirolink Northwest.
Envirolink Northwest is also involved in delivering a number of projects in the region that stimulate the sector such as the Northern Wind Innovation Programme (nwip) - a two year project funded by the Northern Way Partnership and delivered by NarREC and Envirolink Northwest that aims to drive innovation in the offshore wind sector through provision of a £2.6million research fund. Another is the Northwest Tidal Energy Group (NWTEG), which Envirolink is secretiart for, the aim of which is to raise the profile of the Northwest’s tidal energy offering. Through regular meetings and events the group, which consists of stakeholders from industry, public sector and academia, facilitates the dissemination of best practice and encourages debate on the topic.
In a bid to further showcase what the region has to offer, Envirolink Northwest is the core sponsor of the forthcoming BWEA 31 event, which is being held in Liverpool, in the Northwest. It will have two stands at the event, one of which is the ‘England Northwest Pavilion’ - a stand that will showcase what 16 regional suppliers can offer to the wind and tidal industry. “It will be a uniform message from the region and a good platform to promote Northwest technologies and expertise,” comments Hall.
One of the 16 companies that Envirolink Northwest is hosting on its stand is HiDef Aerial Surveying. With extensive experience in aerial imaging, environmental monitoring and statistical analysis, the company can offer survey solutions to industry, government and research. Envirolink Northwest helped them diversify into the renewables sector and today this is one of the company’s biggest application areas - providing marine wildlife surveys for the offshore wind industry. In fact, HiDef will be carrying out surveys for the Crown Estate in Round Three.
Another company on the England Northwest Pavilion is Community Windpower, a company formed in 2001 that works with local communities to build wind farms that can provide economic, educational and environmental benefits to whole communities and local schools. Envirolink Northwest has been working with them on and off for a number of years helping with their trade strategy to international markets and also inviting them to events, trade shows and meetings that may be of benefit. At the beginning of October, Community Windpower opened a new windfarm - Aikengall Community Windfarm, which is located near Dunbar, East Lothian and consists of 16 3MW wind turbines. This windfarm was consented in 2007 and is now in full operation generating 48MW of clean, green electricity.
Presence
According to Hall, there were two reasons why Envirolink Northwest decided to sponsor and have a presence at BWEA31. Firstly, it was to help raise the profile of the region and what it can offer and secondly, raise the profile of the services offered by Envirolink Northwest. “The key thing we hope to gain from the event is better engagement with industry, developers and end users,” says Hall. “Visitors can see what we are doing and the types of companies that we are helping. Ultimately, it’s all about helping the Northwest win more business.”
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