The UK’s Great British Energy: A Path to Sustainable Power
UK politics has taken a significant turn with the Labour party's election victory, ending 14 years of Conservative rule.
At the State Opening of Parliament, King Charles delivered a speech highlighting the new government’s priorities, with a strong focus on climate change.
King Charles emphasised the urgency of addressing global climate challenges: “My government recognises the urgency of the global climate challenges.” His speech also touched on “technology of the future,” indicating a bill to regulate AI and large language models.
The new government aims to push for a clean energy transition, particularly in renewable energy investments like offshore wind. Achieving energy independence and lowering energy prices are other key goals, supported by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) initiatives and railway renationalisation.
The Green Party responded with cautious optimism. “We’re seeing some moves in a positive direction – but in terms of climate action, the Labour government needs to be bolder and better,” it said. “Investment in renewable energy is the way that the country needs to go.”
Launching Great British Energy
A cornerstone of the new sustainability strategy is the creation of Great British Energy, a nationalised energy company. Headquartered in Scotland, the company will start with an £8.3m (US$10.8m) investment, partnering with the private sector to boost clean energy.
The Labour Party said: “Great British Energy will be owned by the British people, built by the British people and benefit the British people.”
The company will focus on floating offshore wind, nuclear power and hydrogen, aiming to make the UK a leader in these areas.
Great British Energy will prioritise:
- New technologies: Investing in floating offshore wind, tidal power and hydrogen
- Mature technologies: Accelerating wind, solar and nuclear energy deployment with private sector partnerships
- Community energy: Reducing local energy costs through decentralised systems, partnering with local authorities and cooperatives for community energy projects.
Industry leaders weigh in
Sustainability leaders from various sectors have shared their views on Great British Energy’s potential impact.
Vishavjeet Sodhi, Head of Air Solutions at LG Business Solutions said:
“Expanding investment in new and renewable domestic energy sources is a step in the right direction for sustainability. And it offers an opportunity for the UK to take more control of its energy generation whilst powering growth opportunities.
“However, careful attention also needs to be paid to how energy is consumed. Currently, 40% of UK emissions come from households. Alongside expanding renewable energy sources, there needs to be a concentrated effort to encourage the uptake of high-efficiency electric appliances like heat pumps and energy recovery ventilators to lower energy consumption and achieve carbon neutrality.”
“Meeting net zero targets by 2050 will be a serious challenge. But by bringing all parts of the energy management system together - from production and storage to usage and conservation – the UK can tackle climate change more effectively.”
Martin Ferguson, Vice President of Public Affairs for American Express Global Business Travel said:
“The King’s recognition of SAF's importance to decarbonisation, energy independence and economic growth underscores the urgency for government to scale it at speed. The corporate travel sector has been driving demand and investment in SAF and stands ready to help the new government develop a world-leading SAF market in the UK.”
Iju Raj, Executive Director of R&D at AVEVA, one of the UK’s largest software companies, said:
“AVEVA welcomes the creation of Great British Energy, which we hope will accelerate delivery of green power projects, alongside the lifting of the onshore wind ban.
“Working with customers throughout the UK and beyond, we have seen how digital technology, including the use of AI, can increase the efficiency of green power and with these planning reforms there is an opportunity to create the data centres and research hubs necessary to increase this capability.”
Helen Lamprell OBE, Chief Legal and Transformation Officer at AVEVA said:
“Building an internationally competitive economy requires investment in both energy and digital infrastructure. The measures announced today to set up Great British Energy and to reform the planning system are important signals of serious intent to achieve this.”
Stuart McLachlan, CEO and Founder of the world's largest pure-play sustainability firm, Anthesis, said:
“While the government’s focus, outlined in today’s King’s speech, on key climate issues like renewable energy, net zero, and energy security is commendable, we urgently need a government that elevates nature and biodiversity to the forefront of its green agenda.
“The traditional relegation of nature and biodiversity below other climate change issues, such as renewables, is a damaging misreading of the situation we are in. Protecting our natural world is not just an environmental imperative, it is an economic one. Recent projections suggest a failure to protect our environment could lead to a 12% reduction in the UK’s GDP as early as 2030.
“In February next year, as part of the Paris Agreement, the UK will submit its new climate plan detailing how it plans to cut emissions up to 2035. I hope to see in that document strengthened commitments from the government to nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation.”
Brian Allen, CEO and Founder of high-tech wind solutions company, Rovco, said:
“Labour’s focus, outlined in today’s King’s Speech, on energy security and renewables is commendable. I was particularly pleased to hear the King nod to accelerated investment in the offshore wind industry through the creation of Great British Energy.
“It is also reassuring to hear that Labour recognises the urgency of global climate challenge and the new job opportunities that will come from leading the development of the technologies of the future.
“As the industry continues to grow so quickly, if we don’t have the workforce we need, it will be simply impossible to reach or even come near the capacity objective of 60GW of offshore wind. The offshore wind industry is already short of around 70,000 workers needed by 2030 – and this is before factoring in Labour’s revised increased capacity target. This isn’t an easy gap to fill, but with the intelligent implementation of AI and automation alongside the offshore wind workforce, we can get there.
“Long-term success in any AI strategy will be determined by how well the workforce is upskilled in areas like data science, machine learning, and advanced analytics. Scaling the offshore wind industry must be framed as a tech issue and a tech priority. It will be crucial that Labour supports – through apprenticeships and SME investment – the tech skills that will be the future of the offshore wind workforce.”
Aniruddha Sharma, Chair and CEO of Carbon Clean, one of the biggest carbon capture companies in the UK, said:
"The King's Speech sets out a high-growth, low-carbon agenda. This level of ambition is exactly what's needed to turbocharge the economy and create thousands of clean tech jobs.
“The Industrial Strategy could be a catalyst for a UK-wide industrial renaissance in low-carbon manufacturing, provided the right support is in place for specific sectors, including carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS).
“The National Wealth Fund is a particularly important vehicle for attracting inward investment. Its structure sets it up for success, with flexibility in both the type of financial products available and the breadth of qualifying sectors. Drawn-out, formal competitions for pre-allocated pots of money have deterred investment and I welcome the move away from this model.
“A strong desire to partner with business to boost UK competitiveness and accelerate net zero progress has resonated throughout the new Government’s first weeks in office. Long may this continue.”
Alan Sinclair, Head of Energy and Natural Resources, UK at Turner & Townsend, said:
"Charting the UK’s transition to clean, secure, energy relies on confidence and consistency in policy. The industry will be cheered as much as by what isn’t changing in this King’s Speech as what is.
"Accelerating investment in renewable energy, such as new nuclear, solar and offshore wind, through the establishment of Great British Energy will be welcomed as a potential catalyst for the sector.
"However, the challenge will be to integrate this fresh thinking with the longstanding planning that has already taken place. We urgently need to move from policy development to the practicalities of execution: securing supply chains, building skills and agreeing long-term pricing contracts with investors. The greatest risk is that in re-strategising, we introduce delay and waste time that we do not have to meet rapidly approaching deadlines for decarbonisation."
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