HUNDREDS of new jobs could be created in Hampshire and millions saved in electricity bills if a scheme to encourage green technology wins local authority backing.

The jobs promise came as business leaders from across the region converged for the Future Solent 2014 Conference yesterday.

The all day event held at a venue at Portsmouth's historic dockyard was held to discuss the future direction of the local economy and the benefits of a lower carbon economy - especially in reducing our electricity bills.

The conference was organised by Future Solent, which is made up of Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, the universities of Southampton and Portsmouth and Solent Local Enterprise Partnership.

Other members include the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire (PUSH) as well as the companies IBM, Bouygues UK and GEP Environmental.

Future Solent chairman Jimmy Chestnutt, the former Hampshire Chamber of Commerce chief executive, said a strategy for the future could involve building local low carbon power stations that could bring jobs the area.

He said: “What we need to do in this area is our own energy production.

“The basics of that are that we import energy from Scotland and it costs us millions and millions of pounds to import that energy, when we could actually create it ourselves, keep the money in the area, create the jobs in the area and add to the wealth of the area.

“It's a win, win, win.

“What we have done here is put forward a case which shows that it costs money but you save more than you spend.”

As part of the vision a special bank would be set up to distribute funding.

But its key players insist this would require all the local authorities teaming up to pool the massive resources required and to coordinate complex projects.

As previously reported, talks are to take place on whether to merge councils to form the Solent City Combined Authority as part of ongoing devolutions to England's regions.

Future Solent board member and scientist Charles Burt said: “We have to take a coordinated approach, so the region acts as a region.

“A federation of local authorities has huge buying power.

“And if it can centralise the legal aspects, set up frameworks for the delivery of capital projects then huge costs can be avoided.”

Mr Burt said already other places in the UK are steaming ahead with their green economic strategies, such as Plymouth, Sheffield, Birmingham, Leeds and Hull and Humber.

During the conference Future Solent also revealed that in the next five years it hoped to create 300 high skilled jobs in the region's green energy sector by 2019 with its “green growth” grants.

Since last year 80 jobs have been created.

Thanks to a £80,000 grant Tapflo, whose factory is based in Chandlers Ford, was able to double its workforce to 10 and has just secured a distribution deal in Poland for a low energy pump.

Director Colin Wreyford said it enabled his firm to take it to the market.

He said: “With our turnover and the amount of turnover this can be very difficult.”