Halite Energy, the company behind plans for an underground gas storage facility at Preesall, Lancashire, has declared the appointment of John Roberts CBE as Chairman.

The appointment is in line with the company's commitment to building a strong UK- based team to lead its proposed project.

John Roberts is a prominent figure in the UK's energy sector. A graduate of Liverpool University and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, he spent 30 years with Manweb plc, joining as a graduate trainee and working his way up through the organisation to become its Chief Executive in 1992, a position he retained through Manweb plc's acquisition by Scottish Power. Roberts then spent three years as Chief Executive Officer at Hyder Utilities, before taking up the position of Chief Executive Officer at United Utilities plc, which he held for seven years.

Roberts currently holds non-executive board positions with a number of organisations that are developing significant energy projects across the UK including the International Power plc, Royal Bank of Canada (Europe) Limited and BlackRock New Energy Investment Trust.

Originally from Wallasey, Roberts is a great advocate for the North West and has previously been Chairman of the Manchester Inward Development Agency Service (MIDAS) and a non-executive director of The Mersey Partnership. He is also a Fellow of Liverpool John Moores University.

Roberts accepted the position following an extensive review of the project. 'I'm delighted to be working alongside the Halite Energy team to drive this important project forward,' he said.

'Gas storage is critical to the future security of energy supplies in the UK and this project will be nationally significant in terms of meeting our future needs. The extreme weather this past winter highlighted the urgent requirement for sufficient gas reserves to meet demand. Further, the UK's strategy to develop renewable energy sources, such as wind power, relies on flexible gas storage to counterbalance intermittency.

'The North West has large deposits of salt which are proven to be the safest and most effective way to store gas and the Preesall site is amongst the last in the country that is suitable for this purpose.'

Tags: Halite Energy