The UK Labour Party has given more details on its vision for Great British Energy (GB Energy), a publicly owned clean energy company. A website has been launched and the logo revealed.
Plans for GB Energy were first released in September last year, promising to save £93 billion for Britain’s households and deliver 100% clean power by 2030. Party leader Keir Starmer has refuted claims that the transition from oil and gas would cause job losses, arguing that, while GB Energy will provide jobs, fossil fuels will remain in the mix for “decades to come”.
The company will be headquartered in Scotland and will not generate energy itself; instead, it will invest public money in renewable energy generation projects like wind and solar. Newer technologies including hydrogen and floating offshore wind are also eligible for funding.
Ed Miliband, Labour’s Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary, said: “Great British Energy will kickstart our mission for clean power to lower bills and boost our energy independence.
“It’s time to move on from the Tories’ bone-headed opposition to clean energy, for which British families are paying the price.”
Should Labour be elected in the 4 July general election, it will capitalise GB Energy with an initial £8.3 billion in the first Parliament. It will be split into two parts: an initial £3.3 billion for the ‘Local Power Plan’, funding that will provide grants and loans for small-scale clean energy projects – solar panels on council houses, schools or hospitals, for example. The Green Party has said the funding behind plans for GB Energy are “tiny” and “nowhere near enough”.
RenewableUK’s CEO Dan McGrail said: “With the right set up and direction, Great British Energy has the potential to play a key role in supporting the development of innovative emerging technologies like tidal power and floating wind, as well as the development of new onshore wind and solar sites through Labour’s Local Power Plan.”
Labour’s climate promise
The company’s three initial priorities will be co-investing in new technologies, scaling and accelerating mature ones and scaling up municipal and community energy. Labour has pledged that, if elected, it will more than double the UK’s onshore wind capacity to 35GW. It will also fast track at least 5GW of offshore wind capacity, quadrupling offshore wind with the ambition of 55GW by 2030.
Labour would also triple solar power to 50GW. However, its climate policy is not only focused on renewable energy generation: It will get new nuclear projects at Hinkley and Sizewell over the line, extend the lifetime of existing plants, and back new nuclear, including Small Modular Reactors.
Finally, it would double the government’s target on green hydrogen, with 10 GW of production for use particularly in flexible power generation, storage, and industries like green steel.
Job market stability
Speaking to fears that ending oil and gas licensing would cause mass job losses, Starmer said: “I’m convinced transition will bring more jobs to Scotland. We’re not going to turn the pipes off instantaneously, we’re not going to revoke any licenses in place.”
The SNP has criticised the the project, saying it could risk 100,000 jobs in the north east of Scotland.
Unite, a UK union, started a campaign last month called No ban without a plan, calling on Labour to reverse its plans not to issue new licences until a genuine programme for a just transition is in place. The group has called on the party to provide full details of how it intends to create well-paid, green skilled jobs.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Labour has come out today and promised tens of thousands of new jobs for North Sea workers. To make this happen we will need a concrete plan and serious investment.”
Starmer told the BBC: “As we transition into clean power there is the potential for a huge number of skilled, long-term, well-paid jobs. GB energy will be the driver of that to make sure that those jobs are in Scotland.
“In Europe, in America, initiatives are already under way to get ahead on renewables. I want Scotland, the UK to be in the race.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar added that the party’s pledge to set up GB Energy is a “transformational opportunity for Scotland that once again we cannot afford to miss”.
