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The government has announced it has leveraged £24bn of private finance in its first 100 days for clean energy projects in the UK.
Announcing the funding, ahead of the International Investment Summit on 14 October, the government believes the money will create thousands of jobs in green industries throughout the country.
Among the investments is Iberdrola doubling its investment in the UK, through Scottish Power, from £12bn to £24bn over the next four years. This includes £4bn being put forward for the East Anglia 2 wind farm off the Suffolk coast which was unlocked by the expanded allocation at the most recent wind auction round. Iberdrola executive chairman Ignacio Galan has also today confirmed that the UK has become their largest investment destination.
Orsted and Greenvolt have confirmed that the government’s recent expanded offshore wind auction means their projects will unlock £8bn and £2.5bn of investment for Orsted and Greenvolt respectively in their planned offshore wind farms.
Holtec also confirmed an investment of £325M in a new factory in South Yorkshire which will supply materials for Hinkley Point C and likely Sizewell C power stations. The firm believes this will create up to 490 direct and 280 indirect jobs annually during the construction phase and 1,200 direct engineering jobs created over 20 years.
SeAH Wind has made an additional £225M investment into wind technology manufacturing in Teesside bringing their total investment into the site at Teesworks up to £900M. It will be used to help them make their ongoing factory build, one of the biggest facilities of its kind worldwide, even bigger.
BW Group announced it is proceeding with a £300M investment into a new battery energy storage project in Birmingham.
Macquarie has also announced a supporting investment of £1.3bn into new green infrastructure including its Island Green Power solar farm in Stow, as a result of planning consents having been granted by the government. This money will also be used in its Roadchef portfolio company installing electric car ultra-fast charging points across its sites along the UK motorway network.
The announcements come as the prime minister Kier Starmer convened the first Council of the Nations and Regions, delivering on a manifesto promise to rewire the way the UK government operates. Focussed on investment and growth, the council will see first ministers and deputy first ministers from the devolved governments come together with regional mayors to collaborate and seize opportunities to secure long-term investment and boost growth. The agenda, agreed with attendees, includes discussion on how to boost growth and inward investment across the UK, including through an industrial strategy and the Investment Summit.
Yesterday, the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) gave the green light for a new scheme to help unlock billions in investment in energy storage infrastructure. It will aim to create the first significant long duration energy storage facilities in nearly four decades, hoping to create back up renewable power and bolster the UK’s energy security.
The announcements further build on the government confirming funding to launch the UK’s first carbon capture sites in Teesside and Merseyside. Two new carbon capture and CCUS enabled hydrogen projects will help remove over 8.5Mt of carbon emissions each year.
Starmer said: “Today’s investments are a huge vote of confidence in this government and our relentless focus to drive growth across the UK.
“Whether you’re in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or England – we are creating the conditions for businesses to thrive, and our International Investment Summit will be a springboard for every part of the UK to be an engine of innovation and investment.
“Today I’m convening the first ever Council of Nations and Regions, because it is when we work together in the spirit of genuine partnership, that we can deliver the real change people want to see and improve opportunities for all.”
Iberdrola Executive Chairman Ignacio Galán said: “After having invested more than £30bn in the last 15 years, the clear policy direction, stable regulatory frameworks and overall attractiveness of the UK are leading us to double our investments for 2024-28, reaching up to £24bn.
“This is a vote of confidence in the UK’s clear and stable policies and is a major boost to the economy and the path towards green energy security and Net Zero. The benefits of electrification in terms of energy security, industrial development, jobs and decarbonisation are shared ambitions of the UK and Iberdrola.
“The investments demonstrate further progress on the government’s clean energy mission and a major boost to the UK economy three days before the first International Investment Summit on 14 October, which will gather UK leaders, high-profile investors and businesses from across the world to deepen our partnership to drive investment and growth.”
Ørsted chief executive A/S Mads Nipper said: “The reason we are investing in the UK is that alongside the targets for clean energy, we also see the commitment to creating the policy frameworks required to deliver those targets and a government who wants to work with businesses to enable the investments required.
Flotation Energy chief executive Nicol Stephen said: “Green Volt is a trailblazing, multibillion pound floating offshore wind project which will kickstart jobs and investment by companies right across the UK offshore supply chain.
“The choice of our HQ in Aberdeen is clear evidence of our strong commitment to support local jobs and businesses wherever possible.”
SeAH Wind chief executive Chris Sohn said: “With the proactive support of UKEF, our project is progressing smoothly.
“As we approach the completion of the factory construction, we are committed to ensuring its successful finalization. We aim to become the first monopile manufacturing company in the UK and make a significant contribution to the UK economy.”
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