THE industrial future of Teesside could lie in the area's development as a national centre for renewable energy.

Earlier this week Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt launched the all-party Steel Group of MPs and announced £2.7m of investment to support areas suffering following the decline of steel manufacturing.

On Teesside, 1,100 job cuts were announced last February as a result of a huge restructuring programme by steel company Corus.

Now, it is hoped that a significant proportion of the cash will be pumped into Teesside as part of a regeneration project, called Renew Tees Valley, which aims to build on the area's expertise in the manufacturing business and develop Teesside as a national centre for excellence for renewable energy.

The area is set to become home to two wind farms - one on former Corus land at Redcar and the other located off the shores of the River Tees. The projects will make Redcar home to the biggest wind farms in the UK.

But the new plans would also involve the introduction of bio-mass industries, ways of recycling metals and making water out of hydrogen.

Redcar MP Vera Baird told The Northern Echo that the area's traditional manufacturing background meant its workers were well equipped with practical skills that could easily be transferred into the renewable energy market.

"These kinds of businesses are the way forward and we have to concentrate on making use of the skills released by the early decline of the steel industry to help technology in the modern era," she said.

Peter Ellis, director of regeneration with Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, said the Renew Tees Valley vision incorporated the business of renewable energy with innovative energy use and the recovery and recycling of waste.

He said: "We are already working closely with a lot of partners and see opportunities that can attract major inward investment and offer real jobs."

The Renew Tees Valley project is one of several regeneration projects announced for Teesside in the wake of heavy job losses in both the steel and chemical industries.

Other plans include a light transport system for the Tees Valley, a new Tees river crossing, the development of the University of Durham at Stockton and the long-awaited regeneration of the Middlehaven area of Middlesbrough.