The government’s new power company Great British Energy will work with the Crown Estate to develop green power projects, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has said.
The Crown Estate, which owns most of the seabed up to 12 nautical miles from the mainland, will create a new division to work with GB Energy to develop offshore wind farms.
The partnership has the potential to leverage up to £60bn of private investment into energy projects, according to DESNZ.
It estimates the joint initiative will lead to up to 20-30GW of new offshore wind developments reaching seabed lease stage by 2030 – enough to power nearly 20 million homes.
Energy security and net zero secretary Ed Miliband said: “The agreement with The Crown Estate will lead to more investment, cleaner power, more energy security, and is a statement of intent that it will be a permanent and transformative institution for our country.”
DESNZ said in its announcement that the partnership “will boost Britain’s energy independence by investing in homegrown power” and reduce the time it takes to get offshore wind projects up and running by up to half.
The Crown Estate operates independently and returns profits it generates from its £16bn portfolio of land and seabed to the Treasury, after paying for the Sovereign Grant for the royal family.
Existing wind farms on seabed that it leases to wind-farm operators generated 11.8GW of power in 2023-24, according to its latest annual report.
The Crown Estate brings “long-established expertise to the partnership”, alongside new investment and borrowing powers recently announced by government. The Crown Estate bill, which will be introduced today, will give it more borrowing powers and remove restrictions on its activities, allowing it invest in digital technologies to map the seabed more effectively.
The early development work the two entities will do for offshore wind projects through the partnership will make future offshore-wind projects lower risk for developers in future, “enabling projects to build out faster after leasing and crowding in private sector investment”, according to DESNZ.
The Great British Energy bill will be introduced to parliament today to lay the groundwork for the company. It sets out five functions for the state-backed company: project development, project investment, building up renewable and nuclear energy supply chains; working with local authorites and communities to support community renewables; and strategising on how Great British Energy and Great British Nuclear will work together.
GB Energy will be headquartered in Scotland, the prime minister confirmed today. The UK Government is in discussions with the Scottish Government and Crown Estate Scotland on how the energy company could help to support projects and investment in Scotland, DESNZ said.
Keir Starmer, said the partnership is “an important step toward our mission for clean energy by 2030, and bringing down energy bills for good”.
“This agreement will drive up to £60bn in investment into the sector, turbocharging our country toward energy security, the next generation of skilled jobs, and lowering bills for families and business,” he added.
Crown Estate chief executive Dan Labbad said: "The Crown Estate exists to serve the national interest, including stewarding our natural resources to deliver a decarbonised, energy secure and sustainable future.
"With new powers and by partnering with government, we can drive greater investment into this future for our country, and with it support nature recovery and job creation."