Great British Energy

Thursday 25th July 2024 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Ed Miliband)]

Our country faces huge challenges. More than two years on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, families and businesses continue to pay the price for Britain’s energy insecurity. Bills remain hundreds of pounds higher than before the energy crisis began and are expected to rise again soon. At the same time, we are confronted by the climate crisis all around us, not a future threat but a present reality, and there is an unmet demand for good jobs and economic opportunities all across Britain.

In 2024, the answers to all these challenges point in the same direction: investing in clean energy at speed and scale. That is why making Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030 is one of the Prime Minister’s five missions, with the biggest investment in home-grown clean energy in British history.

I am pleased to say that we are already delivering on one of the Government’s first steps for change by setting up Great British Energy, a publicly owned company headquartered in Scotland, to invest in clean, home-grown energy.

Today, we are reaching a major milestone to help establish Great British Energy by introducing the Great British Energy Bill to Parliament. I am also announcing Great British Energy’s first major partnership, with the Crown Estate, as well as publishing our founding statement to outline Great British Energy’s mission and functions.

Great British Energy’s first major partnership will bring together two national institutions for the benefit of the British people. The Crown Estate brings a £16 billion portfolio of land and sea bed that returns its profits to the Government, long-established expertise to enable swift action, and new borrowing powers as announced in the King’s Speech. Great British Energy will bring the strategic industrial policy that the state can provide, as well as its own ability to invest.

The Crown Estate estimates this partnership will deliver up to 20 to 30 GW of new offshore wind developments reaching sea bed lease stage by 2030. It will help boost Britain’s energy independence, and cut the time it takes to get offshore wind projects operating and delivering power to homes by up to half.

The UK Government are in discussions with the Scottish Government and Crown Estate Scotland on how Great British Energy could help to support new development and investment in Scotland.

Today’s publication, which I will place in the Library of the House later, sets out what Great British Energy is, why it is needed, what its structure will be, what role it will play and what the next steps are. Great British Energy will have five key functions:

Project development—leading projects through development stages to speed up their delivery, while capturing more value for the British public.

Project investment—investing in energy projects alongside the private sector, helping get them off the ground.

Local power plan—supporting local energy generation projects through working with local authorities, combined authorities and communities.

Supply chains—building supply chains across the UK, boosting energy independence and creating jobs.

Great British Nuclear—exploring how Great British Energy and Great British Nuclear will work together, including considering how Great British Nuclear functions will fit with Great British Energy.

I will ensure that we establish Great British Energy at pace, so that it can make an early impact, while also setting it up for long term success. I will continue to take the important steps to put Great British Energy on a delivery footing, including announcing the location in Scotland of its headquarters and undertaking a programme of stakeholder engagement to further develop our policy approach. I look forward to keeping the House updated throughout this process.

[HCWS20]