Energy firms flock to Government's £40bn guarantee scheme Announcing that energy, road and rail projects worth £33bn have passed the "first hurdle" to joining the inititative, the Government hailed the high level of interest from gas and electricity companies as "helping ensure that Britain develops a sustainable future energy supply." Of the 40 applications announced so far, 15 have agreed to be named. The latest of these include Helius Energy's £300m, 100 megawatt (MW) biomass plant in Avonmouth, Bristol; the £400m Islandmagee gas storage project in Northern Ireland; and two Intergen gas-fired power generation projects at Spalding in Lincolnshire and Gateway Energy Centre in Essex. Non-energy applications to the guarantee scheme include the Countesswells mixed-use development in Aberdeen, which will see 3,000 homes built alongside "business spaces and retail outlets"; the relocation of Northampton University and the redevelopment of a campus at University of Roehampton. Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, said: "Getting our infrastructure right means we can be globally competitive, boost growth and create jobs across the UK. The guarantee is already earmarked for the £1bn extension of the Northern Line extension to Battersea but it could also form a component of the financing for the £4bn Thames Tideway super sewer, the £600m Mersey Gateway toll bridge and EDF's £16bn nuclear plant at Hinkley Point, in Somerset. Drax power station, in North Yorkshire, used a £75m guarantee from the Government in April to agree a cheaper debt deal with Friends Life, which is providing a £75m loan maturing in June 2018. The loan will be used to part-finance a £700m project to convert three of the six plants at the 4,000MW Drax plant to greener biomass fuels. The plant is Britain's biggest power station, supplying 7pc of the UK's electricity needs. The Government's scheme is open to infrastructure projects in the energy, transport, communications, waste and housing sectors that could boost Britain's economic growth.