NECA looks to invest £8.5m in Newcastle College Energy Academy
At its cabinet meeting next week, the North East Combined Authority will look to approve funding for the project, which will strengthen its ambition to become the UK’s green energy hotspot.
The £8,488,000 funding will come from the Investment Zone grant, and will enable the expansion of Newcastle College’s Energy Academy, a specialist renewable, subsea, and offshore engineering facility that works with businesses in the Tyne Powered cluster to provide specialist skills, training, and apprenticeships.
If it goes ahead, a new building will be constructed on the land next to the existing Academy, doubling its floorspace and forming a new Energy Campus.
The site would deliver skills training for the offshore, renewable, and green energy industries on the River Tyne Economic Corridor, with the expectation of attracting further private investment into key development sites.
It follows the approval of plans for energy sector growth in Blyth, Northumberland, as phase two of its Energy Central Campus were given the go-ahead last month.
Located close to the Wallsend Metro station in North Tyneside, the site is next to Swans Energy Park, a former shipyard with a deep-water quay.
Nearby Neptune and Offshore Technology Parks are also considered to be potential sites for further investment and development by offshore energy and marine businesses.
NECA expects the ‘green energy revolution’ to create around 4,500 skilled manufacturing and engineering jobs on the River Tyne in the next 10 years.
During the meeting, NECA’s cabinet will be asked to allocate the funding towards the expansion of the college, and agree to the so-far confidential investment proposal that will be presented.
The Energy Academy is a key part of the next phase of the Investment Zone programme, with an emphasis on the skills pipeline it will provide for the region’s ambition in becoming a green energy superpower.
