The government has given the green light to a new energy project, that will bring economic growth and thousands of jobs to the Tees Valley.
Worth £4 billion, the Net Zero Teesside project will begin work by the end of the year and will see the establishment of the world’s first industrial-scale carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) facility.
Up to 860 megawatts of low-carbon electricity will be generated by the power station, with this being enough to power up to 1.3 million homes in the UK. Alongside this energy generation, the process will also see up to two million tonnes of CO2 captured, which would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. Once captured, the CO2 will then by taken by pipeline to a storage site under the North Sea, where it will be safely stored.
Mayor of the Tees Valley, Ben Houchen, said:
“This is a monumental day for Teesside and my proudest achievement since becoming Mayor, and I want to thank the Government for giving the green light to this project.
“The NZT project will provide power to 1.3million homes, and help with energy security, but more importantly it will give generational job opportunities to local people as Teesworks becomes the new ICI – providing investment, training and well-paid jobs for local people.
“Teesworks has already transformed the site, secured billions of pounds of private investment and created thousands of good quality local jobs including the SeAH monopile offshore wind factory, the largest single investment by a South Korean company in the UK
“But this investment is on a scale not seen on Teesside since ICI. Teesside is no longer seen as an old industrial heartland in decline – we are now a global player leading the world once again and I’m delighted to deliver another promise as Mayor.
“This is a day that we look back on as the start of a golden generation for Teesside.”
In addition to the energy generation benefits, the project is anticipated to create 3,000 jobs in construction, as well as a further 1,000 once the plant is up and running. The site is also set to add around £300 million to the economy every year.
Councillor Alec Brown, Leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, also commented:
“This decision has the potential to have a huge, positive impact on the lives of the people of the Tees Valley for generations. It’s an opportunity to create the kind of very high-quality jobs that could have a transformative impact on the entire economy. I’d like to thank the Government for the decision. Now we must all continue to work hard together with all partners and businesses and grab this opportunity for all its worth for the benefit of the people of our area for many years to come.”
Image credit: iStock