http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/articles/i/5134/?cid=3

 

Lord Smith of Kelvin, current chair of SSE and The Weir Group, is to head the UK's new Green Investment Bank (GIB), the government announced today.

 

He said it was a pleasure to be asked to head up the organisation by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and "can't wait to get started".

Lord Smith will be assisted by Sir Adrian Montague, who is currently chair of companies including 3i and Anglian Water, as deputy chair and senior independent director. Sir Adrian has been chairing the GIB advisory group and closely involved in its development.

"Lord Smith and Sir Adrian bring significant expertise and strong track records of delivery," commented Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

Business Secretary Vince Cable added:
"The UK GIB is a major new innovation vital to securing investment in what is one of the great challenges of our age, the decarbonisation of our energy supply. It has found two candidates of outstanding calibre well suited to leading the bank through its important early phase."

Lord Smith and Sir Adrian will be supported by an investment team in London and support staff in Edinburgh.

Recruitment of the GIB's other directors and senior executive team will begin shortly so that the organisation can be fully operational this autumn, subject to EU state aid approval.

The news comes against a background of record growth in the UK's green goods and services market.

According to a report from BIS out earlier this week, the sector grew by 4.7% in 2010/11 compared to the previous period to pass the £122 billion mark.

The UK is now outperforming the the worldwide Low Carbon and Environmental Goods and Services (LCEGS) market, which expanded 3.7% over the same period.

The country is taking a 3.7% share of the worldwide market and is the sixth largest LCEGS market behind the US, China, Japan, India and Germany.

While the UK saw particular growth in the carbon financing and wave and tidal energy sectors, alternative fuels, building technologies and wind energy form the largest part of the country's LCEGS market.

The strong performance means that the sector is providing an additional £5.4 billion-worth of economic activity and an export surplus of £5 billion.