Council boss is new green energy ‘tsar’
HALTON Borough Council’s leader has been named as a Liverpool City Region cabinet member for green energy.
Steve Rotheram was elected last month and has underscored his commitment to creating a zero carbon region by 2040 with two key announcements at a major green energy launch.
Mr Rotheram has appointed Cllr Rob Polhill as the new cabinet member for energy, renewables and air quality.
Speaking at an event to launch the next phase of Dong Energy’s expansion of the Burbo Bank off-shore wind farm, Mr Rotheram pledged his commitment to harnessing the power of the River Mersey as a source of green energy.
He described the idea as a massive opportunity that needs to be given fresh impetus and priority.
He said: “The massive expansion of off-shore wind energy spearheaded by Dong Energy is a pointer to the future, both in terms of energy and economic policy.
“I believe that it is an achievable objective for our city region to har- ness its natural assets to work towards self-reliance on renewable energy.
“Harnessing the power of the Mersey Estuary and moving ahead with the best practicable option for tidal power generation, will be a transformational project for the city region.
“I look forward to working closely with Rob Polhill to move this project forward.”
The Liverpool City Region includes Halton, Sefton, Wirral, Liverpool, St Helens, and Knowsley.
Cllr Polhill is looking forward to starting work on his new portfolio, saying that renewable energy and green technology were industries of the future where the city region had a decisive competitive edge.
He said: “We have outstanding natural assets, world-class research capability and a cluster of cutting edge companies like Dong Energy already operating in the city region.
“The devolution agreement, metro mayor and empowered combined authority now gives us the opportunity to really exploit this potential.
“Perhaps in the past, the scale and complexity of a tidal scheme for the Mersey Estuary has seemed daunting, but these are the sort of bold and ambitious projects we need to embrace if we are to make the most of devolution.” ●