The Prime Minister and Energy Secretary announced a new unprecedented partnership between Great British Energy and The Crown Estate, which has the potential to leverage up to £60 billion of private investment into the UK’s drive for energy independence.
Great British Energy will be at the heart of the government’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. The company will be owned by the British people, for the British people, backed with £8.3 billion of new money over this Parliament to own and invest in clean power projects in regions across the UK.
It comes soon after the Energy Secretary has scrapped the ban on onshore wind and unblocked the production of cheap solar energy. The announcement is yet more evidence of the Energy Secretary rolling up his sleeves to deliver clean energy and kickstart economic growth, so British bill payers and communities reap the benefits of clean, secure, home-grown energy.
Great British Energy’s first major partnership will be between two national institutions for the benefit of the British people. The Crown Estate, which has a £16 billion 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. Great British Energy will bring the critical strategic industrial policy that the state can provide, as well as its own ability to invest.
The Crown Estate estimates this partnership will lead to up to 20-30GW of new offshore wind developments reaching seabed lease stage by 2030, enough power for the equivalent of almost 20 million homes.
The partnership will boost Britain’s energy independence by investing in homegrown power, and with accompanying reforms to policy, cut the time it takes to get offshore wind projects operating and delivering power to homes by up to half.
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.
It comes as the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has published details of the company’s objective. Families across the country have suffered during the cost-of-living crisis, as the UK’s over-reliance on fossil fuel markets was exploited by Putin. Great British Energy is part of the government’s plans for clean power by 2030, so families and businesses are never left vulnerable again to spiking global prices.
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.
The government is already legislating to give both Great British Energy and The Crown Estate the powers they need to rapidly deliver, with two Bills being introduced in Parliament today.
The Energy Secretary also confirmed that leading captain of industry Juergen Maier, former CEO of Siemens UK, will be the Chair of Great British Energy, driving forward this new company.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "My government is laser focused on delivering change, to make people better off. 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 £60 billion in investment into the sector, turbocharging our country toward energy security, the next generation of skilled jobs, and lowering bills for families and business. My mission led government is rolling up our sleeves to deliver for Britain."
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."
