From: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and The Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP
Landmark bill passes in Parliament as Great British Energy takes another major step forward.
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.
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, 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.
Great British Energy hosted 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.
This press release has been sourced from the official website of the UK Government and can be accessed here. The release has been slightly edited.
