Sir Keir Starmer poised to oversee explosion in wind farms with £8.3bn energy partnership

Sir Keir Starmer and Ed Miliband today announced the £8.3billion partnership, which they said would ‘unleash billions of investment in clean power’

The UK could see an explosion in the number of wind farms on its coastlines following the announcement of a new partnership between Great British Energy and the Crown Estate.

Sir Keir Starmer and Ed Miliband today announced the £8.3billion partnership, which they said would “unleash billions of investment in clean power”.

The Crown Estate estimated it will lead to up to 20-30GW of new offshore wind developments by 2030 - enough to power the equivalent of almost 20 million homes.

The new partnership could make way for £60 billion of private investment into UK based energy, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said.

The sun starts to rise behind Britain's largest offshore wind farm off the Great Yarmouth coastline on July 19, 2006 in Norfolk, England. (Getty)

The public sector will take on a new role undertaking additional early development work for offshore wind projects, which would mean they are lower risk for developers and would allow the projects to progress more quickly, the department said.

It claimed the partnership, alongside planned policy reforms, will cut the time it takes to get offshore wind projects delivering power to homes by up to half. 

This comes just days after the energy secretary scrapped the ban on onshore wind, with the government saying it is committed to doubling onshore wind energy by 2030.

The prime minister said the announcement– which is the first major partnership linked to Great British Energy – is an “important step toward our mission for clean energy”.

Meanwhile, energy secretary Ed Miliband said the agreement is “a statement of intent that [Great British Energy] will be a permanent and transformative institution for our country.”

The Crown Estate is an independent commercial business with a £16bn portfolio.

As well as managing the seabed and much of the coastline around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, it plays a significant role in the UK’s offshore wind sector as well as emerging offshore technologies.

Two bills will be introduced to Parliament today to give both Great British Energy and the Crown Estate powers to deliver on the partnership.

Ed Miliband said the agreement is ‘a statement of intent that [Great British Energy] will be a permanent and transformative institution for our country’ (BBC)

Sir Keir said: “My government is laser focused on delivering change, to make people better off.  

“This innovative partnership between Great British Energy and the Crown Estate 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 £60 billion in investment into the sector, turbocharging our country toward energy security, the next generation of skilled jobs, and lowering bills for families and business.  

“My mission led government is rolling up our sleeves to deliver for Britain.”

Mr Miliband added:  “Great British Energy comes from a simple idea - that the British people should own and benefit from our natural resources. Investing in clean power is the route to end the UK’s energy insecurity, and Great British Energy will be essential in this mission.  

“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.”

But the Conservative Party accused Labour of having put “ideology above the national interest”.

Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said: “The public has been sold a lie that a Labour government will cut their energy bills by £300. Now that they’ve won the election they’ve tried to brush that figure under the carpet, showing us the truth that GB Energy is nothing but a gimmick that will end up costing families, not cutting bills.

“Labour have already been forced to admit that their flagship energy company won’t generate any energy, and now we know it’s a financial black hole - funnelling taxpayer’s money into reducing risk for multi-million-pound energy companies.”

She added: “Labour’s entire energy policy puts ideology above the national interest. Their absurd 2030 decarbonisation target will hike bills and ramp up our dependence on batteries and cables from China.

“They want to kneecap our domestic oil and gas production to import foreign fuel with higher carbon emissions. The Conservatives will hold them to account and make sure that the focus is on cheap bills and secure energy.”