Blyth firm Narec changes its name

May 27 2010 by The Journal

THE North East's pioneering centre for renewable energy has changed its name to reflect its emergence as a nationally significant facility.

The New and Renewable Energy Centre, based in Blyth, Northumberland, will now be officially known as the National Renewable Energy Centre. It will continue to use the abbreviated name Narec.

Officials at Narec said the move reflected the centre’s growing importance to the renewable energy sector in the UK. In February, it secured a grant of £18.5m from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to fund an offshore wind test facility.

In December last year, BIS contributed £11.5m towards the £15m cost of a new 100m offshore wind turbine blade facility, also being constructed at Blyth, for testing the largest offshore blades.

The facilities will play a key role in the testing of equipment to be used in the Crown Estate Round Three Programme for new offshore wind farms around the coast of the UK.

The centre was created by regional development agency One North East in 2002 and has since grown into the most comprehensive facility of its type in Europe, offering a range of services to businesses involved in the renewable energy sector.