The UK government, in the person of newly appointed prime minister Keir Starmer, has launched its first major partnership between Great British Energy and The Crown Estate, a move that has the potential to release up to £60 billion of private investment into the UK’s drive for energy independence. 

A new parliamentary bill will enable the company, said to be ‘owned by the British people’ to be backed by £8.3 billion of new catalysing investment over the course of this parliament, to own and invest in clean power projects in regions across the UK. 

The Crown Estate, which has a £16 billion portfolio of land and seabed holdings and rights, operates independently and returns its profits to the government, brings expertise 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 20-30 GW of new offshore wind developments reaching seabed lease stage by 2030. The partnership is intended to boost Britain’s energy independence by investing in home-grown power, and with accompanying reforms to policy, cut by half the time it takes to get offshore wind projects operating and delivering power.  

This partnership will see the public sector taking on a new role undertaking additional early development work for offshore wind projects. This is intended to 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 is expected too that it will help boost new technologies such as carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, wave and tidal energy.   

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. 

Great British Energy will have five key functions:

  • Project development – leading projects through development stages to speed up their delivery, whilst capturing more value for the British public;
  • Project investment – investing in energy projects alongside the private sector, helping get them off the ground;
  • A 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 nuclear functions will fit with Great British Energy.

The Great British Energy Bill, which was introduced in the House of Commons yesterday 30 July, will support the creation of the new publicly owned company by setting out its objectives and ensuring it has access to necessary finances. The Secretary of State will also have the ability to set Great British Energy’s strategic priorities to ensure it remains focused on the government’s aim to accelerate the delivery of home-grown clean energy power in the UK. 

The announcements follow the government’s rapid action to set up a new ‘Mission Control’ at the heart of government to deliver clean power by 2030. It will be headed by former Climate Change Committee chief executive Chris Stark.