Jack Loughran Thu 25 Jul 2024
Collected at: https://eandt.theiet.org/2024/07/25/great-british-energy-develop-20-30gw-offshore-wind-farms-crown-estate
Great British Energy will partner with the Crown Estate to build up to 20-30GW of new offshore wind developments, the Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced.
The Great British Energy Bill was announced last week in the King’s Speech to enable the creation of the new publicly-owned energy company that will oversee the government’s push to further expand the UK’s carbon-free energy programme.
The company will be backed by £8.3bn of new investment over the next parliament, with a goal to leverage a further £60bn in private investment.
The Crown Estate, which ostensibly belongs to the monarchy, already has a £16bn portfolio of land and seabed. While it operates independently, all profits generated are returned to the Treasury. It estimates that the new partnership will lead to the creation of 20-30GW of new offshore wind developments that will reach seabed lease stage by 2030. This is approximately enough power for the equivalent of almost 20 million homes.
In its manifesto prior to winning the election, the Labour Party pledged to accelerate the UK’s efforts to make its power grid net zero from 2035 to 2030. It said the plan would ultimately cut household energy bills by up to £1,400 a year and improve insulation for millions of homes.
While ambitious, the proposal has faced criticism from the Conservative-leaning Policy Exchange think tank, which described the plan as “infeasible in the timeframe” .
It argued that the shorter timeframe does not allow additional generation from nuclear or bioenergy with carbon capture and storage to be brought online to meet the target.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said the new partnership will ensure that future offshore wind development has a “lower risk for developers” that should enable projects to be built out faster after leasing and crowding in private sector investment.
Great British Energy will be headquartered in Scotland and will back energy generation projects in the UK, bringing profits back to the public purse.
“This innovative partnership between Great British Energy and the Crown Estate is an important step towards our mission for clean energy by 2030, and bringing down energy bills for good,” Starmer said. “This agreement will drive up to £60bn in investment into the sector, turbocharging our country towards energy security and the next generation of skilled jobs, and lowering bills for families and business.”
The announcement follows the recent scrapping of the Tories’ de facto ban on onshore wind just three days after Labour was elected to power.
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