Caroline Lucas has welcomed today's announcement by the Crown Estate that the wind farm proposed to be built off the Sussex coast will go ahead.

The 'Hastings wind farm' development will be built offshore between Brighton and Newhaven. It will be made up of 100 turbines which together could provide up to 500 MW of electricity - enough power for 250,000 households.

It is one of nine sites being considered this week by the Crown Estate. According to government estimates, if all nine projects were given the go-ahead, a thriving UK renewables sector and around 60,000 jobs would be created.

Caroline said today, " I'm particularly delighted that local company Searoc will be deeply involved as a partner organisation in five of the proposed wind farms, including the ‘Hastings' project .

"As a result the company expects to double its workforce of 70 people and develop skills that could be exported to other countries during the years of wind farm development. All of this underlines the huge potential of Brighton and Hove as a Greentech centre.

"It is encouraging to see progress finally being made on offshore wind. But the efforts must not stop there - and the benefits must be kept locally. Projects like the Hastings wind farm can aid economic regeneration.

"Newhaven in particular has been hit hard by the recession, but could really benefit if the new jobs brought by the project are created locally, rather than exported.

"Over 90% of the €2bn earmarked for the London Array wind farm is being spent abroad. This demonstrates the government's failure to match its rhetoric on green jobs with action - as did its spectacular failure over Vestas.

"But renewable energy infrastructure will continue to be produced abroad unless government starts supporting green industries here.

Caroline continued: "Neither should support be restricted to wind power.

"The UK gets less of its energy from renewable sources than almost any other EU country, and is the second highest greenhouse gas emitter as a result. What we need is an energy infrastructure overhaul, with massive investment in diverse renewable sources to slash emissions.

"Energy efficiency is also crucial; a huge impact could be made with policies which truly help people cut their energy use. Providing free insulation for all homes - as we would do - is the sort of action we need right now.

"Rather than allowing plants like Vestas to close, the government must invest massively to support these new industries. By doing this, we can create an economy which is more sustainable, more stable, and more fair."

For more information please contact Brighton and Hove Green Party office on 01273 766 670