A Suffolk MP has urged the government to help local businesses benefit from the growth of the renewable energy industry along the East coast. Waveney MP Peter Aldous raised in parliament that the East Anglia Array wind farm offered many potential jobs to people in Suffolk and Norfolk. Energy Minister Charles Hendry said British companies would be given "every opportunity" to pitch for their firms. Work on the East Anglia Array is expected to start by 2015. When built, the series of wind farms about 8.5 miles (14km) off the Suffolk and Norfolk coast will power more than five million homes, according to project leaders ScottishPower Renewables and Vattenfall. It is hoped the offshore wind industry will create 48,000 jobs in East Anglia in 10 years, according to councils in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.