Miliband: ‘Great British Energy will be self-financing by 2030’

Ed Miliband has set a 2030 deadline for Great British Energy to become self-financing, with profits ploughed into renewables. The publicly-owned firm has already invested £200m in solar, pledged £1bn for UK supply chains, and will back community schemes to cut bills and create jobs

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has set out the government’s plan for Great British Energy, the UK’s first publicly-owned power company in decades, promising that it will be self-financing within five years and reinvest its profits into renewables to cut bills and strengthen energy security.

The company, created under the Great British Energy Act in May, has been given a 2030 deadline to generate returns across its commercial activities and a requirement to publish a plan for becoming self-financing within the same timeframe. Ministers say profits will be permanently reinvested into clean energy projects, insulating households from global fossil fuel price shocks and reducing dependence on imported energy.

Unveiling the priorities, Miliband said: “It is time to make things and own things in Britain again. That’s why we have set up Great British Energy to be a new national champion and allow us to reap the benefits of Britain’s abundant natural resources. Great British Energy will place working people, communities and British industries at its core, turbocharging clean energy across the country as part of our clean power mission.”

The government said Great British Energy has already committed around £200m to solar and renewable energy projects on schools, hospitals and public buildings, with panels now beginning to deliver savings on energy bills for essential services. Earlier this year, £180m was awarded for rooftop solar panels at schools and NHS sites, projected to save up to £400m over the next three decades. In July, mayoral authorities across England received £10m from the company to roll out local clean energy projects at community buildings such as care homes, leisure centres and libraries. Ministers estimate those schemes will deliver £35m of lifetime savings. A further £9.3m has been allocated to devolved governments for public-sector and community renewables.

Under its remit, Great British Energy will act as a developer, investor and owner of clean power projects in partnership with the private sector, devolved administrations, councils and community groups. Its objectives are to invest in both new and established technologies to meet the UK’s Clean Power 2030 target, to back domestic supply chains to boost resilience and growth, and to support community and local energy schemes, including a Local Power Plan to ensure that towns and regions benefit directly from the transition. The government said these priorities had been agreed with devolved administrations, underlining the company’s UK-wide scope.

Dan McGrail, Great British Energy’s chief executive, said: “Work is already underway at Great British Energy to deliver our Strategic Plan, and we welcome the Secretary of State’s recommendations. Most of the clean energy projects in the government’s Industrial Strategy will flow through Great British Energy, enabling us to be the green growth engine for the UK. We are going to invest £1 billion in domestic supply chains, which I expect will unlock billions more in investment and create thousands of jobs. Along with our partners like the National Wealth Fund, The Crown Estate, Great British Energy-Nuclear and many more, we are primed to develop innovative ways to grow new renewable technologies, ensuring our energy is engineered in the UK.”

Great British Energy is working closely with the National Wealth Fund and has already launched joint initiatives with The Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland, including a £1bn investment in offshore wind supply chains to support jobs and growth.

The announcement comes as Labour seeks to draw a clear line under decades of private ownership in the energy sector by re-establishing public control in part of the market. Ministers argue that a publicly-owned company is essential to accelerate clean power deployment and ensure that the financial benefits are shared with the public rather than global shareholders. By 2030, the government expects Great British Energy to be a self-financing entity that drives large-scale clean energy generation, creates thousands of skilled jobs and permanently lowers costs for households and public services.

READ MORE: “The British government could unlock hundreds of billions of efficiency savings by changing the way that energy is used but it must lead by example” – SDCL Group CEO, Jonathan Maxwell