'Dirtiest region' now has chance to be a leader in switch to green energy

£4BN OF INVESTMENT TO CREATE NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR COUNTIES

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE and Derbyshire will become the UK leaders in green energy as the region’s mayor says parts of both counties “never recovered” from the closure of pits.

Tens of thousands of jobs are set to be created by green energy projects, many of them on former coal-fired power station sites.

East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward says Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire “paid their price” in terms of jobs lost at pits and power stations and that £4 billion of investment can now bring new opportunities to affected areas. She says getting a workforce skilled enough to work at the upcoming major clean energy projects will be a key priority.

Plans include the pioneering use of fusion energy at the former West Burton Power Station and the development of a net-zero energy hub at the former Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station, which ended up being the last coal-fired site to close.

Ms Ward said: “Clean energy is going to be a big feature of this region, more so I'd say than many other places. We're going to need skills that are in that area probably more than most other regions. I think we will be the UK leader.