The UK’s new Great British Energy company must be fully funded to supply 5% of the country’s electricity supply in five years’ time, a new report has concluded.
The Institute for Public Policy Research’s 2030 and beyond: Great British Energy’s role in the green transition paper found the 5% share of national electricity distribution would be needed for the public body to succeed in delivering the government’s mission of lowering energy bills.
The charity said the Aberdeen-based GB Energy could hit this milestone – the equivalent of 8.5GW generation capacity – by the end of the decade if it receives the full £8.3bn backing pledged by the government after last summer’s election plus the “right structures and remit”.
It estimated this would make it comparable to equivalent state-owned electricity companies in Germany and the USA although significantly smaller than other similar companies elsewhere in Europe.
The IPPR has also called for GB Energy to own and operate all its assets instead of becoming an investment vehicle in other companies and to target “sustainable rather than maximum” profits.
Beyond 2030 it should have the power to borrow independently of government to enable it to expand without pulling on public sector finances, the IPPR added.
“For GB Energy to succeed as a publicly owned operating company, the government must take the most ambitious approach possible, including sticking to its original plan to invest £8.3bn,” said IPPR associate fellow Simone Gasperin.
“It must ensure that GBE can immediately focus on direct investment in fully owned clean energy projects, delivering real benefits to industrial and domestic consumers and seeking to establish itself as a major player within the entire UK electricity sector.”