The leader of the UK’s Liberal Democrats party has called for the almost £900m a year in option fee income from the latest offshore wind leasing round to go towards a new sovereign wealth fund.
Ed Davey (pictured) said the cash, raised in Round 4, could be invested in “green initiatives” to fight climate change as well as build new infrastructure.
The seabed leasing could bring in up to £9bn in total, if all projects take ten years to develop, after developers pledged hundreds of millions of pounds in annual option fees to secure access to sites in the Irish and North Seas.
“Just last month, an auction for the right to build wind farms off the coast of England and Wales attracted bids far higher than anyone expected, raising nine billion pounds,” said Davey.
“I believe that money should go towards a Sovereign Wealth Fund, ready to invest in green initiatives up and down the country, attracting private investment and sparking a positive cycle of economic growth in the UK.
“Let’s put recovery first – a green recovery – leading to fairer, greener, more caring Britain.”