Last week, the government introduced the long-promised Great British Energy Bill, a significant step towards revolutionising the UK’s energy landscape. Announced in the King’s Speech, this initiative aims to establish a new public energy company, with £8.3 bn allocated over the course of this parliament. 

Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband emphasised the core vision behind Great British Energy: “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.” 

With the establishment of Great British Energy, the UK is set to advance towards energy security, creating new green jobs, and reducing energy costs, while making substantial progress in the transition to clean power across the country. In a landmark partnership, Great British Energy will collaborate with the Crown Estate, which manages a £16 bn portfolio of land and seabed. This partnership is expected to facilitate up to 20-30GW of offshore wind developments at the seabed lease stage by the end of the decade, significantly boosting the UK’s renewable energy capacity. 

According to Peter Childs, FREng Professor and Co-Director of the Energy Futures Lab at Imperial College “The UK could be a net exporter of renewable energy – tripling our offshore and onshore provision of wind energy would a good start and I really hope that these projects will breeze through approval processes over the next year” 

Richard Jardine, Professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College stated “Offshore wind is already making a tremendous contribution in delivering renewable energy and our work has contributed to significantly improving the cost-effectiveness with which this can be achieved effectively. However, problems in recent years with strike rates and supply chain issues have slowed the pace of development sharply. I sincerely hope that the new UK Energy bill will help a new wave of UK projects to come to fruition and make still larger contributions to achieving net zero” 

Prime Minister Keir Starmer highlighted the broader impact of this initiative: “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 £60 bn in investment into the sector, turbocharging our country toward energy security, the next generation of skilled jobs, and lowering bills for families and businesses.” 

“Securing the success of this bold vision, which entails a very short time scale, requires the timely engagement of industry, investors, academics, and wider stakeholders, including environmental authorities, in the articulation of our energy and industrial strategy. We hope that this will begin in earnest.” commented Anna Korre, Professor of Environmental Engineering and Energy Futures Lab Co-Director. “In addition to the government funding offered, practical knowledge, expertise, and opportunity for explicit debate is needed to navigate a path that will certainly not be a straight line.”