Forth Energy founded

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(SSE) have entered into a strategic venture to develop renewable energy projects around Forth Ports sites in Scotland and England.

The new venture, called Forth Energy, will invest in the generation, distribution and supply of renewable energy for export to the electricity network for commercial sale and consumption at Forth Ports sites.

According to SSE, the venture foresees projects across a number of renewable energy technologies, including onshore and offshore wind and biomass, and related networks and infrastructure.

Possible projects with a total installed capacity in excess of 150MW have been identified. The first of these - the construction of four 2MW onshore wind turbines at the Port of Tilbury - will proceed shortly, following the recent grant of planning consent. This project will require total investment of around £12m, to be provided by a combination of project debt and equity.

If Forth Energy's existing project portfolio is fully developed, up to 200 permanent skilled engineering and craft jobs will be created.

'For some time we have been examining how we can develop a renewable energy strategy, both for self-consumption and for commercial sale by exploiting our asset base and by capitalising on our logistics expertise,’ said Charles Hammond, group chief executive of Forth Ports. ‘On a stand-alone basis, we expect these projects to deliver attractive returns.