Power surge for Yorkshire

Many solutions have been proposed but time is increasingly short to

carry out the sheer scale of investment required to meet the huge

demands of 21st century homes and businesses.

This problem could, however, also be an opportunity for firms in Yorkshire, which is well placed to take advantage of low carbon technologies.

Yesterday's announcement that a site on the Humber estuary in Hull has been selected as a potential location for a new biomass power station is one among a number of projects under consideration in the region.

The plant could provide enough electricity to meet the average needs of up to 500,000 homes. It would also play an important part in enabling the UK to meet its target of generating 15 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.

The scheme, backed by Denmark's largest power company, could also lead to the development of a new 100m deep-water berth located next to the power station, enabling the fuel to be delivered over water rather than by road, potentially generating hundreds of additional jobs.

The venture comes on top of existing plans to build the world's biggest clean coal power station near Doncaster, while Yorkshire could also be at the centre of a network of pipelines to store millions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions in depleted North Sea gas fields.

The developments would see the region – now Britain's biggest polluter – become significantly greener. But harnessing the "white heat of technology" perhaps also remains the best chance for Yorkshire's manufacturing and production industries to have a prosperous future and steal a march on others slow to react to Britain's energy crisis.

It remains an exciting prospect – and it also offers a distant glimmer of light in the gloom of the economic outlook.