Britain’s workers in industrial heartlands such as Teesside, Scotland, South Wales and East Anglia are set to benefit from a major deal ‘crowding in’ investment for the country’s industrial renewal. The Government and
Great British Energy, the UK’s publicly owned clean power company, have joined forces with industry and The Crown Estate to invest £1 billion in offshore wind supply chains, securing Britain’s renewal through manufacturing facilities and skilled well-paid jobs.
Investment comes after the Government’s Spending Review confirmed the biggest programme of investment in homegrown energy in history and forms part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy — which will include clean energy industries — sending a clear signal to the world to ‘Build it in Britain’.
This investment will power the next generation of offshore wind in the UK, supporting British innovation from blueprint to blade by backing the manufacturing of turbines, floating platforms, HVDC cables, and cutting-edge technologies, alongside upgrading vital port infrastructure from Leith and Teesside to Great Yarmouth and Port Talbot. This investment will unlock thousands of jobs, kickstarting growth in coastal communities and industrial towns, and secure a cleaner, more independent energy future for Britain.
The funding is made up of £300 million announced by Great British Energy in April, which provides upfront public investment to ‘crowd in’ funding from the private sector into Britain’s industrial regions. £400 million will come from The Crown Estate, intended to support new infrastructure, including ports, supply chain manufacturing and research and testing facilities. A further £300 million will come from the offshore wind industry to match-fund the Government through the Industrial Growth Plan, to deliver new investments into supply chains such as advanced turbines technologies and foundations and substructures.
This takes the total pot to £1 billion, building the industries of the future in Britain, such as floating offshore wind, and securing the UK as an attractive investment destination for international investors and existing UK companies. The funding will also support thousands of additional jobs — from the electricians manufacturing the turbines and blades to the engineers responsible for the construction and maintenance of wind farms.
Catalytic investmentDan McGrail, Great British Energy chief executive, said: “Today’s announcement highlights the unique role Great British Energy can play in the market. By providing state-backed, catalytic investment, we can deliver on our remit to ‘crowd in’ investment, giving much needed certainty to developers and investors in the clean energy sector. GBE will continue to support domestic supply chains, driving sustainable economic growth for all corners of the UK.”
Jane Cooper, RenewableUK’s deputy chief executive, said: “A concerted focus from industry and the Government on growing the offshore wind industry’s supply chain in the UK could deliver an extra 10,000 jobs between now and 2035, boosting the UK’s economy by £25 billion. Our sector is stepping up, working closely with the Energy Secretary and the Crown Estate to create new opportunities for manufacturing high-value goods like turbine towers, blades, foundations and cables, and providing high-quality jobs building, operating and maintaining offshore wind farms. Our ambition is to transform quaysides around our coastline into clusters of global excellence in offshore wind, bringing new jobs and investment to communities which often badly need economic renewal.”
Richard Sandford, chair of the Offshore Wind Industry Council, said: “Growing our supply will avoid the kind of bottlenecks that push up costs and cause delays, so it is good for developers, consumers and our Clean Power Mission. We are working to match the Government’s funding to support a homegrown supply chain, and drive long-term sector growth. It is vital that industry and Government keep working together to remove barriers so that we can get more capacity through clean power auctions and more funding to the supply chain.”
Supporting thousands more jobsThe funding comes as Great British Energy have announced that leading public finance and investment institutions have come together to accelerate the deployment of funding, supporting domestic supply chain development for offshore wind projects. Great British Energy will bring together the National Wealth Fund, The Scottish National Investment Bank, The Crown Estate, Crown Estate Scotland and The Development Bank of Wales, agreeing to develop a unified public finance ‘ecosystem’ to build Britain’s offshore wind supply chains.
The Government will also allocate up to £544 million from its Clean Industry Bonus, which provides funding to offshore wind developers for prioritising their investment into some of Britain’s most deprived communities, and in cleaner supply chains. Funding will go to developers investing in regions such as Scotland, the North East and the East Anglia. Subject to the outcome of this year’s renewables auction, industry estimates this could support up to 14,000 jobs, and drive up to £9 billion of private funding into these communities over the next four years.
For every £1 spent on the bonus, it is estimated to attract £17 of private investment. This means unlocking private sector investment into manufacturers of electrical equipment, heavy steel products, upgraded port facilities and the high-tech components needed to build floating and fixed offshore wind farms. This will support high-quality jobs for British people in these regions.