Prime Minister Launches Major Boost for UK Clean Energy Industry

Communities across the country will benefit from new investment in domestic clean energy supply chains – driving economic growth and supporting thousands of jobs through the Plan for Change.

Workers and businesses in the UK’s industrial heartlands will benefit from an initial £300 million of funding through Great British Energy to invest in supply chains for domestic offshore wind. It is expected that the investment will directly and indirectly mobilise billions in additional private investment - helping de-risk clean energy projects and supporting thousands of jobs and revitalising the UK’s industrial heartlands.

SMI welcomes the announcement that Government has brought forward an initial £300m investment in the UK's domestic offshore wind supply chains.

On the announcement, Tom Chant MBE, CEO of the Society of Maritime Industries, said:

"The UK’s maritime industries - particularly our vessel builders and shipyards - are indispensable to delivering the Government’s vision for Great British Energy. Without a strong, innovative and resilient maritime sector, the infrastructure needed to deploy and maintain offshore wind at scale simply won’t be possible.

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create thousands of skilled jobs, revitalise our shipbuilding communities, and anchor clean energy supply chains here in the UK. The Prime Minister’s funding is a crucial step toward securing these industrial opportunities, especially at a time of intense global competition for clean energy investment."

The public investment complements the £43 billion of private investment pledged for clean energy projects since July.

Britain’s engineers, technicians, and welders are being backed by this fast-tracked funding, brought forward by the Prime Minister ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review, which will allow Great British Energy, the country’s publicly-owned clean energy company, to invest in new supply chains for offshore wind manufacturing components such as floating offshore platforms and cables. This builds on the government’s landmark investment in domestic supply chains through initiatives such as the Clean Industry Bonus and the National Wealth Fund.

As part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy, which will turbocharge growth in the UK’s key sectors including clean energy, the new investment in domestic offshore wind is part of the Prime Minister’s drive to ensure that the clean energy future is ‘built in Britain’. The funding will ensure that the nation builds resilient domestic supply chains for components which are essential to delivering clean power by 2030.

It comes after the Prime Minister said that a new era of global insecurity means that the government must go further and faster in reshaping the economy through the Plan for Change, and that this requires a new muscular industrial policy that supports British industry to forge ahead.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

"Delivering the Plan for Change means winning the race for the clean energy jobs of the future, which will drive growth and help us reach clean power by 2030.

"That is why I am bringing forward much-needed investment in our domestic offshore wind supply chains, strengthening our security and creating good jobs for our welders, electricians, and engineers.

"Let my message to the world go out: come and build the clean energy future in Britain"

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said:

"It is only by taking back control of our energy that we can protect families and businesses from the rollercoaster of global markets we don’t control.

"That is why this government is doubling down on our clean energy superpower mission - driving economic growth, good jobs and investment across our country."

The Prime Minister, ministers and business leaders will gather in London today for the 2-day summit on the Future of Energy Security – hosted by the UK government and International Energy Agency – as countries take action to protect themselves from future energy shocks in these unstable times. Leaders from around the world, including the President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen, will come together to address the global challenges and opportunities of speeding up the clean energy transition.

The Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, the Minister for Investment Baroness Poppy Gustafsson, National Wealth Fund CEO John Flint and Great British Energy Chair Juergen Maier will today write to global clean energy developers and investors inviting them to invest here in Britain. It follows the government announcing a series of pro-growth measures including major reforms to speed up grid connections and overhaul planning rules.

Dan McGrail, interim CEO of Great British Energy, said:

"Great British Energy will help the UK win the global race for clean energy jobs and growth by investing in homegrown supply chains and ensuring key infrastructure parts are made here in Britain.

"We will work closely with businesses across the clean energy sector to get funding out as fast as possible and get projects off the ground."