Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will outline his ambition to attract £60billion of investment into the UK energy sector today as he brings forward the legislation which will create Great British Energy.
Labour is announcing a new partnership with the Crown Estate to help attract investment into its new publicly owned energy firm, which will be headquartered in Scotland.
The Great British Energy Bill, which is being introduced in the House of Commons today, will support the creation of the new publicly owned company by setting out its objectives and ensuring it has access to necessary finances.
Labour said it will invest £8.3billion in the company, partly funded by a North Sea oil and gas windfall tax, and has confirmed it will take stakes in green energy projects to help speed them up.
This includes giving a boost to technologies including carbon capture and storage, which has yet to be deployed at scale, along with hydrogen, wave and tidal energy.
Eventually, GB Energy may take a controlling interest in some renewables generation projects.
The partnership with the Crown Estate will mainly focus on offshore wind projects. It will lead to between 20GW and 30GW of new offshore wind reaching seabed lease stage by 2030, the government said.
The agreement is only for projects around England and Wales, but the UK Government is also in discussions with the Scottish Government and Crown Estate Scotland on support for Scottish projects
Investment
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 £60billion 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 its 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."
Reaction
Russell Borthwick, chief executive at Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said the pace at which the new government is taking forward its energy pledges "is both necessary and encouraging".
"Today’s announcement focuses on the acceleration of activities to enable our nation to become a global leader in offshore wind technologies and generation and we look forward to a similar partnership being put in place with Crown Estate Scotland to unlock the incredible potential of Scotwind," he said.
"The picture of the roles of Great British Energy is becoming clearer – a new, publicly-owned energy production company which will own, manage and operate clean power projects up and down the country.
"We now know what
Great British Energy is but not where it will be based. It should not really be up for discussion. Aberdeen has been for half a century Europe’s oil & gas capital.
"We have here a truly world class energy eco-system of knowledge, innovation, operators, supply chain businesses, agencies and our universities. 80% of the licenced Scotwind sites are within 100 miles of Aberdeen, the Acorn CCUS cluster project at St Fergus is just 40 miles north and the city is already considered as a leader in hydrogen technologies.
"The best decisions are taken closest to the action. To succeed, Great British Energy needs to be co-created with industry and that industry is here. God speed the day, when it’s on its way to its home in Aberdeen."