A SENIOR business leader has called for an end to delays over implementing new energy laws, which he claims are stalling investment by major companies like Siemens.
Officials from global engineering giant Siemens were in Hull yesterday for private talks with representatives from Hull City Council and Associated British Ports (ABP) as the wait for a final decision on a proposed £80m offshore wind turbine plant at the city's Alexandra Dock continues.
John Cridland, the director general of the Confederation of British Industry, believes the Government's long-awaited Energy Bill could run out of parliamentary time in the run-up to the 2015 general election.
The bill was earmarked in the Queen's Speech as one of 17 pieces of legislation due to be tabled in the Commons over the next 12 months.
But Mr Cridland said: "The Energy Bill's journey has dragged on long enough. It is crucial for investors that it is put on the statute books as soon as possible.
"There is a lot of concern about the lights going out in the next few years. Without this investment, there is a danger they will go off and not come back on.
"The UK needs £110bn of private sector investment over the next decade, to create long-term, secure, low-carbon and affordable electricity supplies, generating growth and underpinning tens of thousands of jobs."
No one from the council or ABP was available for comment after yesterday's visit.
It is just over three years since the German engineering company signed a memorandum of agreement with the then Labour Government, pledging to bring a new offshore wind turbine assembly plant to the UK. When the company later submitted a joint planning application with ABP, it said it hoped to have the facility open and operational by 2014.
Although the dockside site has been cleared for development, the original timetable has slipped.
In October, Siemens joined six other global energy and engineering firms calling on Chancellor George Osborne to confirm the Government's support for low-carbon subsidies.
Speaking at a dinner hosted by the Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce in January, a senior Siemens executive maintained the company's plans for the city were still on track.
But Matthew Chinn, the firm's head of energy for the UK and Western Europe, also stressed the complex nature of the proposed development.
He said: "There are a lot of people working really hard on a very interesting and exciting project.
"If everything comes together, and the support from government, Hull City Council and partners continues, I think we will get there."
