Britain’s new state-backed power company, GB Energy, will collaborate with the Crown Estate to boost investment in clean energy projects, the government announced on Thursday. The agreement involves the Crown Estate creating a new division to work with GB Energy.
For the first time, the Crown Estate will help develop new offshore wind farms, potentially attracting £30 to £60 billion ($77.48 billion) in private investment. The Crown Estate predicts this partnership could result in 20-30 gigawatts of new offshore wind developments reaching the seabed lease stage by 2030, enough to power almost 20 million homes.
Ed Miliband, the minister for Energy Security and Net Zero, stated, “The agreement with the Crown Estate will lead to more investment, cleaner power…and is a statement of intent that it will be a permanent and transformative institution for our country.”
The new Labour government aims to decarbonize the electricity sector by 2030, requiring a significant increase in renewable power capacity like wind and solar. Legislation to create GB Energy will be proposed on Thursday. This new entity will drive energy investment, backed by £8.3 billion ($10.73 billion).
The Crown Estate, which includes large tracts of land and most of Britain’s seabed, is an independently run commercial business. Its profits go to the Treasury and are used as a benchmark for public funding for the Royal Family, currently set at 12%.
Britain is the world’s second-largest offshore wind market by capacity, after China. However, the sector faces challenges due to high inflation and supply chain bottlenecks. Recently, the government proposed allowing the Crown Estate to borrow money to invest, which would give it more flexibility in supporting renewable projects.
