The public voted for change at the general election. Perhaps nowhere more than when it comes to energy. Every person and business has paid the price of our country’s energy insecurity. As Vladimir Putin sought to use energy as a weapon in his illegal invasion of Ukraine, bills went through the roof in a cost of living crisis unprecedented in modern times.
As the Climate Change Committee (CCC) recently made clear, there is one obvious answer to preventing us being so exposed again – a sprint for homegrown clean energy. As it said in its progress report to parliament last week: “British-based renewable energy is the cheapest and fastest way to reduce vulnerability to volatile global fossil-fuel markets. The faster we get off fossil fuels, the more secure we become.”
Britain was left horribly exposed by years of underinvestment in its own supply and an overdependence on fossil fuels. With energy bills due to rise again in the autumn, according to independent forecasts, because of fossil-fuel prices, the challenges we face have not passed. The only way to protect ourselves as a country for the long term is to deliver cleaner, cheap, homegrown energy – boosting our energy independence, creating jobs and tackling the climate crisis.
That is why our mission to make Britain a clean-energy superpower, with a fully decarbonised power system by 2030, is so important – and there is not a moment to lose. Within a week of coming to power, the new government lifted the onshore windfarms ban, appointed the former head of the CCC, Chris Stark, to drive forward that clean-energy target, announced a rooftop solar-panel revolution and established a new national wealth fund with the chancellor for green investment.
Today, we take the next steps. What was also clear from the election is how much the British people understood the case for Great British Energy, our new publicly owned energy company. In post-election polling by the organisation More in Common, Great British Energy enjoyed the support of 73% of all voters and 56% of 2024 Conservative voters.
People recognise that this innovation can help drive cheaper, cleaner energy, create good jobs and growth, and generate wealth for the country. It is what our European neighbours have been doing for decades. A pragmatic, dynamic state partnering with the private sector to deliver for families and businesses.
To accelerate the action we need and make good on our election mandate, today we have introduced our legislation for Great British Energy and published an update statement for the organisation – and the prime minister is announcing an unprecedented partnership between Great British Energy and the crown estate.
The two organisations are coming together for the benefit of the nation with a new division called Great British Energy: The Crown Estate. The crown estate, which has a £15.5bn portfolio of land and seabed, and returns its profits to the government, will bring its long established expertise, having enabled the UK to be a world leader in offshore wind. It will also have access to new borrowing powers recently announced by the government. As a publicly owned company, Great British Energy will provide the link to the government’s strategic industrial policy objectives of investing in supply chains for the country.
This new partnership will help accelerate the deployment of the clean energy we need, help create good jobs in our country and generate wealth for the taxpayer.
It is an exemplar of the difference Great British Energy can make, working with the private sector to deploy new technologies. Currently, it can take years before a company can move its clean-energy project forward. Great British Energy will co-invest in new technologies, attracting private funding in areas including floating offshore windfarms, tidal power and hydrogen. It will also have the power to scale and accelerate mature technologies such as wind, solar and nuclear, partnering with existing private sector firms to speed up their deployment and meet ambitious timelines for delivery.
It will also work to scale up community energy projects – partnering with energy companies, local authorities and cooperatives to develop up to 8GW of small- and medium-scale projects.
Great British Energy will prove the case for 21st-century, modern public ownership – a dynamic state in partnership with workers, industry and unions, serving communities with cheap, clean and more secure energy, and we’re doing it in a way that will deliver economic prosperity to every home, business and community across the UK.
The new government is under no illusions about the scale of the challenge we face. This is a long-term plan, not a quick fix, but we believe we can galvanise the whole country behind this mission.
Ed Miliband is the Labour MP for Doncaster North and secretary of state for energy security and net zero
