King’s Speech specifically references investment in offshore wind

In the 17 July 2024 speech, King Charles said, “My government recognises the urgency of the global climate challenge and the new job opportunities that can come from leading the development of the technologies of the future. It is committed to a clean energy transition which will lower energy bills for consumers over time.

“A Bill will be introduced to set up Great British Energy, a publicly owned clean power company headquartered in Scotland, which will help accelerate investment in renewable energy such as offshore wind. Legislation will be brought forward to help the country achieve energy independence and unlock investment in energy infrastructure.”

The government said a Great British Energy Bill will be introduced to set up Great British Energy, which will own, manage and operate clean power projects, investing in partnership with the private sector. It will have a capitalisation of £8.3Bn (US$10.8Bn) of new money over the Parliament. 

The Bill gives the Secretary of State the ability to provide Great British Energy with the financial backing needed for it to meet its aims and ambitions. The Secretary of State will be required to prepare a strategic priorities statement for Great British Energy, to ensure it focuses its efforts on government priorities.

The Bill will also modernise The Crown Estate by removing outdated restrictions on its activities, widening its investment powers and giving it the powers to borrow in order to invest at a faster pace. “These measures - which conform to our fiscal rules - will unlock significant investment in public infrastructure for the benefit of the nation,” said the government in a background brief on the King’s Speech, “and unlock investment needed to accelerate and quadruple offshore wind capacity by 2030 as part of the government’s clean power mission.”

The content of the speech was welcomed by Renewable UK. Commenting on the measures announced in it, RenewableUK executive director of policy Ana Musat said, “The King’s Speech provides a range of welcome measures that are essential for accelerating the energy transition and generating economic growth. It is particularly welcome to see the announcement of a Planning and Infrastructure Bill, to ensure that essential infrastructure can be deployed without delay. 

“Setting up Great British Energy to mobilise investment into renewables and support engagement with local communities will also play an important role in helping us meet our deployment targets. Ensuring this institution works well alongside the National Wealth Fund and other financial institutions will be essential to enable the private sector to mobilise the finance required to deliver the energy transition: in offshore wind alone, £100Bn of private investment will be needed to deliver Labour’s target of 60 GW by 2030.

“We look forward to working with the government to ensure the mandate of GB Energy accelerates deployment of key technologies, including onshore wind, floating offshore wind and long-duration energy storage, guided by an industrial strategy and a strong partnership between business and government. Getting that framework right so that we can secure the maximum amount of private capital is essential to realise the government’s ambition to transform the UK into a clean energy superpower.”