The Government-backed Green Investment Bank today announced that it plans to raise a £1 billion fund to buy stakes in working, offshore windfarms.
The bank said it is looking for long-term co-investors to pump money into the sector which has been rocked by a number of project cancellations.
SSE shelved two projects and cutback on a third in March in a bid to save money.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “GIB’s plans for a dedicated, offshore wind fund are a real boost for our industrial strategy in a sector where we have a strong competitive advantage compared to other countries.
“There are great opportunities for British companies and the industry has the potential to create 30,000 jobs for the UK.”
Britain won approval from the European Commission in May to promote and manage funds for wind projects under state-aid rules.
GIB said that it had invested £668 million in green projects during 2103-14, taking the total invested since its launch 18 months ago to £1.3 billion.
An additional £1.9 billion of private money has also been put into the projects.
It made an operating loss of £5.7 million last year but said it was still on track to become profitable once its current portfolio of investments is up and running.
The bank has targeted an annual return of 8% on taxpayers’ money and said all of its investments is set to be profitable. It was set up with £3.8 billion of taxpayers’ money.
