Budget: Companies get green support

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Chancellor George Osborne said the bank would "bring forward private investment in clean energy and green technologies" and promised detailed proposals for the bank following the autumn's spending review.

The Treasury said: "The Government is considering a wide range of options for the scope and structure of the Green Investment Bank. The options will be evaluated for effectiveness, fiscal affordability and transparency."

The announcement was welcomed by CO2 Sense Yorkshire, the publicly-funded body set up to help Yorkshire's businesses cope with the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Chief executive Joanne Pollard said: "From what we know, it is along similar principles to the investments we make; taking public money, investing it wisely, generating a return on that money, recycling it and investing it in the next project and the next project and the next project.

"A Green Investment Bank would be a very good idea because one of the challenges for low-carbon businesses in obtaining investment is that many financial institutions don't really understand the technicalities, technology and risk profile."

The Budget also included a commitment to reform energy tax.