Labour plans to deliver an upgrade of Britain’s ports with a £1.8 billion investment in Britain’s port infrastructure.
Dubbed “the most significant upgrade in a generation” by the party, Labour’s investment will enable more funding from the private sector into UK ports, harbours and energy industry on the coast.
The investment plan comes after Labour announced plans to double onshore wind, treble solar and quadruple offshore wind in the UK, in October 2023.
It is part of Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan, funded by a windfall tax on oil and gas giants that are making record profits. It sets out to encourage private investment in Britain’s clean energy, steel, automotive and construction industries.
UK coastal energy industry to benefit
Further, the plan will support the creation of up to 650,000 jobs. Labour said it will establish the National Wealth Fund to invest in green industries, with £1.8 billion spent on upgrading ports around the country and supporting jobs in the energy industry.
The prowess of the UK’s offshore wind sector helped shape global developments, particularly with international acclaim gained by work in the North Sea. The market in the Celtic Sea is beginning to mature; RWE called the UK a “core market”.
In fact, Labour’s plans echo Current±’s report of RWE’s ambitions: the development and upscaling of local industries, granting an opportunity for areas of the UK, in particular Wales, the opportunity to bolster its net zero economy and specialisations.
Conservative government’s mistakes
UK ports bosses have raised concerns about the Conservative government’s lack of investment in infrastructure, restricting capacity to deliver ambitious targets for renewable energy, particularly offshore wind.
The government announced plans to ease the de facto ban on onshore wind in England in September 2023; however, the energy industry criticised the move, claiming that it “does not do enough for the sector”.
The energy industry has historically criticised the Conservative government for changes to the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme.
In Allocation Round 5 (AR5) of CfD, just 3.7GW of projects were granted funding with this figure also representing no offshore wind.
It is worth noting that the government worked to rectify its errors, raising the administrative strike price for offshore wind by 66% for the next allocation round, which was welcomed by the wider industry.
Great British Energy
The Labour Party is committed to switching on a new company, Great British Energy, to invest in clean energy nationwide. It plans to have transitioned to clean energy by 2030. Through these policies, a Labour government will invest in technologies like floating offshore wind, hydrogen, nuclear, and carbon capture and storage.
Great British Energy, publicly owned company, would invest in clean energy across the country with a focus on floating offshore wind technology – a technology Labour believes GB could become a “world leader” in.
Working in tangent with the wind farms, green hydrogen could be produced instead of direct electricity, enabling the region to contribute to the UK’s green hydrogen aspirations, which include 10GW of low-carbon hydrogen production with 5GW to be green hydrogen by 2030.
This would help Britain achieve energy independence and create a generation of skilled jobs in growing industries.
