- Landmark Great British Energy Bill passes in Parliament
- Publicly-owned energy company to benefit working people by accelerating clean power, bringing energy security and jobs as part of the Plan for Change
- £4 million renewable scheme opens to give Scottish communities a stake in energy
Working people will benefit from cleaner, homegrown power, as Great British Energy takes another major step forward today. Legislation for Britain’s new publicly-owned energy company has passed through Parliament and Great British Energy is set to deliver for working people.
Great British Energy will invest in clean power projects across the UK as part of the government’s Plan for Change to become a clean energy superpower – helping to get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel prices and protect families’ finances.
Backed by £8.3 billion over the course of this parliament, the company will speed up the delivery of strategic energy projects and invest alongside the private sector to get new technologies like floating offshore wind up and running as part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy.
The Energy Secretary is today visiting a hospital in Hull where solar power is saving the hospital hundreds of thousands of pounds each month, allowing money to be reinvested in frontline services.
That’s why Great British Energy is investing £200 million in funding for new rooftop solar power and renewable energy schemes for schools, hospitals and communities – saving hundreds of millions on their energy bills. In April NHS Humber Health Partnership was awarded nearly £8.5 million from this fund, which will deliver up to £14.2 million in lifetime bills savings.
As part of this, yesterday Scotland’s community energy fund opened for applications, backed by £4 million from Great British Energy for local clean energy projects – from community-led onshore wind, to solar on rooftops and hydropower in rivers – generating profits which could be reinvested into community projects or take money off people’s bills.
Meanwhile people in Wales will benefit from nearly £3 million of Great British Energy funding for local renewable projects.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said
“Great British Energy comes from a simple idea British people should own and benefit from our own natural resources.
“We are giving people a stake in clean energy and delivering profits for the British people.
“As part of our Plan for Change, this will make us a clean energy superpower and help bring down energy bills for good.”
Great British Energy Chair Juergen Maier said
“Great British Energy was created to ensure British people reap the benefits of clean, secure, homegrown energy.
“We now have full backing to scale up the company, crowd in investment, and back clean energy projects across the country.”
Today Great British Energy will host a roundtable in Edinburgh alongside the Scottish Secretary, Ian Murray, focussed on the supply chain opportunities in Scotland. It follows Great British Energy’s initial £300 million funding for offshore wind supply chains. This will support Britain’s engineers, technicians, and welders and invest in offshore wind manufacturing components such as floating offshore platforms and cables in the UK’s industrial heartlands.
As part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy, which will turbocharge growth in the UK’s key sectors including clean energy, this investment is part of the Prime Minister’s drive to ensure that the clean energy future is ‘built in Britain’.
The Energy Secretary will soon outline Great British Energy’s strategic priorities – including which technologies the government expects the company to focus on and how it should consider the public benefits from investment decisions.
The Great British Energy Bill received legislative consent from all three devolved governments, the first Bill to under this parliament. This will allow Great British Energy to operate more effectively in every devolved nation and benefit people across the UK.
