UK’s green bank invested £635m in 11 energy projects

The UK’s Green Investment Bank (GIB) has made a positive start, investing £635 million in 11 low carbon projects in the last five months of operation. They include offshore wind, […]

The UK’s Green Investment Bank (GIB) has made a positive start, investing £635 million in 11 low carbon projects in the last five months of operation.

They include offshore wind, energy efficiency, waste recycling and waste-to-energy projects and are expected to help cut 2.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year – equivalent to taking one million cars off the UK’s roads – once operational.

The projects will help generate 11.8Twh of renewable electricity a year – equivalent to powering 2.5 million homes in the country, its new annual report states.

It suggests the total value of the 11 investments was £2.3 billion, with every £1 from the GIB generating almost £3 of private sector money.

Chief Executive Shaun Kingsbury said: “In our first, short year we’ve made great strides in putting in place the foundations upon which we will build an enduring institution. It remains early days but our first results show that we can be successful in achieving our double bottom line of being green and behaving commercially.”

The GIB was launched in November last year and is designed to encourage private sector investment in the UK’s transition to a green economy.

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