The UK government has announced a partnership between Great British Energy and the Crown Estate to lead to up to 20-30GW of new offshore wind developments reaching seabed lease stage by 2030.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “This innovative partnership between Great British Energy and the Crown Estate is an important step toward our mission for clean energy by 2030, and bringing down energy bills for good.
“This agreement will drive up to £60bn in investment into the sector, turbocharging our country toward energy security, the next generation of skilled jobs, and lowering bills for families and business.”
Government-owned GB Energy is capitalised with £8.3bn over this Parliament to own and invest in clean power projects in regions across the UK.
The Crown Estate has a £16bn portfolio of land and seabed, operates independently and returns its profits to the government, brings long-established expertise to the partnership, and new investment and borrowing powers recently announced by government.
GB Energy will bring the critical strategic industrial policy that the state can provide, as well as its own ability to invest.
This partnership will see the public sector taking on a new role undertaking additional early development work for offshore wind projects.
This will ensure that future offshore wind development has lower risk for developers, enabling projects to build out faster after leasing and crowding in private sector investment.
It will also help boost new technologies such as carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, wave and tidal energy.
The Prime Minister has confirmed that Great British Energy will be headquartered in Scotland and will back energy generation projects in the UK, bringing profits back to the British people.
The UK Government is in discussions with the Scottish Government and Crown Estate Scotland on how Great British Energy could help to support new development and investment within Scotland.
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband said: “Great British Energy comes from a simple idea – that the British people should own and benefit from our natural resources. Investing in clean power is the route to end the UK’s energy insecurity, and Great British Energy will be essential in this mission.
“The agreement with The Crown Estate will lead to more investment, cleaner power, more energy security, and is a statement of intent that it will be a permanent and transformative institution for our country.”
Chief Executive of the Crown Estate Dan Labbad said: “With new powers and by partnering with government, we can drive greater investment into this future for our country, and with it support nature recovery and job creation.”
GB Energy will lead projects through development stages to speed up their delivery, whilst capturing more value for the British public.
It will invest in energy projects alongside the private sector, helping get them off the ground.
The company will support local energy generation projects through working with local authorities, combined authorities and communities
GB Energy will support building supply chains across the UK, boosting energy independence and creating jobs.
Finally, it will explore how Great British Energy and Great British Nuclear will work together.
The GB Energy Bill, which is being introduced in the House of Commons today, will support the creation of the new publicly owned company by setting out its objectives and ensuring it has access to necessary finances.
The Secretary of State will also have the ability to set GB Energy’s strategic priorities to ensure it remains focussed on the government’s aim to accelerate the delivery of homegrown clean energy power in the UK.
The Crown Estate Bill will modernise by removing outdated restrictions on its activities so it can, for example, invest in digital technologies that will further enhance its award-winning spatial mapping of the seabed.
The Bill will also expand The Crown Estate’s investment powers and grant borrowing capabilities, unlocking significant investment in public infrastructure.
This includes essential marine investment to help support the acceleration and growth of offshore wind capacity by 2030 alongside supporting the regeneration of urban centres.
The announcements follow the government’s rapid action to set up a new Mission Control at the heart of government to deliver clean power by 2030, headed up by former Climate Change Committee chief executive Chris Stark.