The Government has announced that all Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), including SEEDA, will close by 31 March 2012.
Responsibility for economic development and regeneration in England is being passed onto successor bodies, including Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and central Government departments
Our objective is to ensure a professional and cost effective closure by this date. We have pledged to work closely with our partners, contractors and stakeholders to ensure that the past and future economic benefits of key programmes and assets continue to deliver the greatest economic value for the South East and value for money for the taxpayer.
Please click here for more details about our closure plan, transition arrangements and successor organisations.
European investment: Power
The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) leads the Power Programme and has secured European funding to work with six other European regions. The programme has funded 9 projects that will focus on the move towards low carbon economies at regional level through measures on energy efficiency, renewable energies, eco-innovation & environmental technologies, sustainable transport and behaviour change.
Four of the interregional projects include:
WICO will see SEEDA work with Marine South East and partners from Italy and Spain to identify and develop best practice, promote successful deployment of renewable energy schemes, and deliver benefits to the environment, society and the regional economy. Since 1 April 2010, the small wind industry has been boosted in the UK by the new Feed-In Tariff (FIT) scheme that offers generous rewards for electricity generated using a range of technologies. Energy from small wind systems is now particularly attractive for businesses situated in windy coastal locations. Find out more at http://www.marinesoutheast.co.uk/wico/
TRISCO is led by The Environment Centre in Southampton and works with five European partners. It aims to help different communities (households, businesses and public bodies) reduce their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by changing their behaviour towards their use of resources and helping them overcome barriers to implementing low carbon communities. To get involved visit: http://www.environmentcentre.com/rte.asp?id=113
GENERATION is developing a tool for conducting simplified building energy audits. The Environment Centre, working with partners in three other European regions, is aiming for a more cost-effective method of assessing the performance of a building, leaving comprehensive audits only for those cases where they are truly necessary. They will be testing the methodology in at least 40 public buildings. If you would like to give access to a public building for validation of the tool, participate in their regional events or become part of their dissemination network contact: http://www.environmentcentre.com/rte.asp?id=113
ITACA is exploring integrated transport systems and the benefits that improved integration can bring to all of our regions. It is one of the larger partnerships, led by the region of Emilia Romagna, and although there is no partner from South East England they will be exchanging ideas with the other Sustainable Transport POWER projects including TRACIT and E-Mob. The results will be made available in English to all regions.
A further five projects have been delivered.
E-Mob aims to create the right conditions to move from electric vehicle trials to their sustainable market introduction. The E-Mobility project aims to give direction to local and European authorities and organisations, and accelerate the uptake of electric transportation, which will contribute to CO2 reduction targets. It will also offer jointly created policy and strategy recommendations. The South East England partner is Oxford Brookes, who will be working with partners in five other European regions.
SEECA is looking at a strategy for energy efficiency through proven Climate Agreements with partners in Poland, Estonia and Sweden. The idea of Climate Agreements was developed by the lead partner in Sweden and offers a solution that does not require certain competences or economic means as it is recognised that throughout Europe, there are vast differences in these areas. The strategy will not only improve energy efficiency and reduce consumption but will also ensure that the ‘right’ energy is used for the ‘right’ purpose. It may even demonstrate how a surplus of electricity produced in some of the regions could replace electricity produced using fossil fuelled power production in other areas of Europe. Again, although there is no UK partner in this project, findings will be made available to our region.
SILCS is devising strategies for innovative low carbon settlements. It is led by the University of Portsmouth and will work with Kent County Council and partners in the Netherlands and Spain. The partners will be engaging with the Institute of Sustainability throughout project delivery. They will form networks of residents, scientists, architects and urban planners to explore, test and evaluate best practice in the development of sustainable neighbourhood building projects with lower CO2 emissions and that maintain social cohesion.
TIMBER aims to produce tools for integrated management of Biomass Energy Resources. Ngage Solutions, based in Thame, Oxfordshire, is part of the Timber project working with European partners in four other regions to overcome the logistical challenges of collecting and processing biomass. Solutions will be tailored for both small and medium sized producers offering a replicable logistic system for the delivery of energy from sustainable biomass.
TraCIt is led by the University of Portsmouth and works with two other European regions. It combines municipal, academic and industrial expertise to provide mobility strategies that pave the way for less energy intensive modes of transport.
More information on the 2nd call projects will be available on the POWER website by summer 2010 as the contracts are concluded.
At programme level, the seven European public bodies participating in the programme all have region wide influence. They will use the results and the intelligence generated by the sub-projects to feed back into their regional policies and strategies, and examine how best to introduce the positive outcomes to the mainstream. This close working cooperation between the seven regions will strengthen our ties and open new opportunities for working together on future mutually beneficial collaborations.
For more information on the Power Programme: http://www.powerprogramme.eu/
As part of SEEDA's European Strategy priority on promoting the low-carbon economy, SEEDA is a partner in an Open Days consortium on off-shore renewable energy, which is led by North East England. Other partners include Bremen, Cantabria, Stavanger, South Denmark and Flanders. Open Days is an annual event ,which takes place in October and is held in Brussels by the European Commission and Committee of the Regions. This week of workshops and events showcases the role of the regions in the EU. The consortium is also organising a workshop on off-shore renewable energy, in Brussels in October 2010, which will enable SEEDA to highlight activities and companies that exist in the South East. It will also provide the opportunity to network with industry and other regions. There will also be a regional event on 15 October 2010, entitled POWER: The road to electric mobility, which has been organised under the auspices of the POWER programme.
The POWER Programme is co-financed through INTERREG IVC, the European Regional Development Fund
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