Huhne says city is Green Bank contender

HOPES that the UK Government's proposed new Green Investment Bank could be based in Edinburgh were given a boost when Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne appeared before MSPs.

Giving evidence to the Scottish Parliament's energy committee, he referred to Edinburgh's expertise in energy financing. And he said: "No doubt when we get to the stage when we are determining where it should be located, there will be other places in the UK bidding for it as well who have a financial locus, like Leeds or indeed London, but certainly Edinburgh has a very substantial advantage in that respect."

Mr Huhne said the Capital was "an obvious candidate" to become the home of the new institution, which is intended to provide government funds to attract private investment in renewable energy technologies.

Mr Huhne also paid tribute to researchers at Edinburgh University for producing much of the science behind his department's success in securing 1 billion of money from the Treasury for carbon capture and storage technology.

He called the university "the leading institution" in carbon capture research, which involves storing carbon emissions from the atmosphere in underground vaults.