UK Gov Announces ‘Unprecedented’ GB Energy Partnership

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband have “announced a new unprecedented partnership between Great British Energy and The Crown Estate”, a release posted on the UK government website highlighted.

The partnership “has the potential to leverage up to GBP 60 billion [$77.1 billion] of private investment into the UK’s drive for energy independence”, according to the release, which said 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 GBP 8.3 billion [$10.6 billion] of new money over this Parliament to own and invest in clean power projects in regions across the UK,” the release noted.

“The Crown Estate, which has a GBP 16 billion [$20.5 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,” it added.

“Great British Energy will bring the critical strategic industrial policy that the state can provide, as well as its own ability to invest,” it continued.

“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,” it went on to state.

The release noted that 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.

“My government is laser focused on delivering change, to make people better off,” Starmer said in the release.

“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,” he added.

“This agreement will drive up to GBP 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,” he continued.

In the release, 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,” he added.

“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,” he went on to state.

Also in the release, Dan Labbad, the Chief Executive of the Crown Estate, said, “the Crown Estate exists to serve the national interest, including stewarding our natural resources to deliver a decarbonized, energy secure, and sustainable future”.

“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,” he added.

The release highlighted that Starmer has confirmed that Great British Energy will be headquartered in Scotland. According to the release, Great British Energy will have “five key functions”.

These comprise project development, project investment, local power planning, building supply chains across the UK, and exploring how Great British Energy and Great British Nuclear will work together, the release outlined.

The Crown Estate has already helped the UK to become a global leader in the offshore wind sector and is currently running one of the world’s largest commercial scale floating wind leasing programs in the Celtic sea, the release stated, adding that the partnership “will accelerate that leadership even further”.

In a statement sent to Rigzone, industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) said the partnership announced between Great British Energy and the Crown Estate is a logical step on the government’s planned path to net zero.

It added that the new government “now needs partnerships with industry to put plans into action and kickstart economic growth”.

“The Office for Budgetary Responsibility says net zero will cost the UK GBP 1.4 trillion [$1.8 trillion], with the lion’s share coming from business,” OEUK said in the statement.

“Partnerships must be built across the UK’s offshore energy sector, its world class supply chains and skilled workforce so this scale of investment can be found,” it added.

In the statement, OEUK Chief Executive David Whitehouse said, “we welcome the commitment to create GB Energy in partnership with sectors which are critical to the future success of the UK economy”.

“Our members share the ambition to accelerate renewable energy projects and create economic value. GB Energy must be a positive step to bring confidence to the market, unlock further private investment and grow the UK’s supply chain,” he added.

“We continue to need a fiscal climate that promotes investment in the offshore energy sector to assure a managed transition to clean energy which does not depend on increased imports,” he continued.

“We’re committed to a partnership between government, industry and our skilled people that is focused on a homegrown energy transition, supporting jobs, growing our world class supply chain and delivering domestic energy security,” Whitehouse went on to state.

When Rigzone contacted the UK Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) for comment on OEUK’s statement, a DESNZ spokesperson directed Rigzone to the release posted on the UK government website.

A UK General Election took place on July 4. With all 650 seats declared, Labour won 411 seats, the UK Parliament website showed, highlighting that this was up 209 on Labour’s total from the previous UK election in 2019.

Miliband was appointed Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on July 5. The Secretary of State has overall responsibility for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, according to the government’s website.

Source: www.rigzone.com