THE Tees Valley's bid to become a national centre for green energy was boosted today by the news that two major new renewable developments could be built in the region.

Plans for a £150m biomass power plant, and a wind farm with an accompanying industrial estate, to be created on Teesside have been revealed, which together could generate electricity for thousands of homes and businesses.

It comes as potential further steps in the development of the Tees Valleys rapidly-growing low carbon industry, which is hailed as having the potential to generate £4bn of investment over the next five years. And in a further boost, the Government today revealed both schemes would form part of a national pilot which will streamline planning procedures for renewable or low carbon developments.

The two Teesside projects were among six across the UK to be chosen under the initiative, and will share in £135m from the Housing and Planning Delivery Grant (HPDG) to help with the process. The biomass plant, which is set to be built at Port Clarence in Middlesbrough, will generate 49MW power, which can supply over 50,000 homes, as well as houses and offices at the Middlehaven development. Developer Bio-Energy Investments (BEI) said it expects it will cut carbon emissions by over 140,000 tonnes a year.

About 200 jobs are expected to be created during construction, with a further 40 when it opens, subject to planning permission, in 2012.

Plans for the wind farm, expected to be in the Stillington area, are not yet as developed as those for the biomass plant, which were opened for pre-planning public consultation last week.

However, the developer behind the wind farm - which would generate up to 20MW of renewable energy - is looking to create an industrial estate adjacent to the development, which would include a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit to supply waste heat to local businesses and homes. The industrial estate would not come under the HPDG scheme.

The decision to choose both projects for the funding pilot was welcomed in the region.

Joanne Fryett, head of member relations at the North-East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) said: "NECC welcomes the initiative which will help to support the growth of the renewable energy sector in the North-East.

"We are pleased that through this initiative the planning process will be simplified and streamlined but it is important that decisions are not rushed through that could prove detrimental to the area."

Coun Bob Cook, Stockton Borough Council's cabinet member for regeneration and transport, said: "Clean, low carbon industries have the potential to generate £4bn of investment for the Tees Valley over the next five years and the areas councils are already looking at how we can help this happen.

"We are delighted to be trialling this new way of handling planning applications for low-carbon schemes. If it proves a success, it can only help these industries develop and flourish."