A press notice sent to Rigzone by the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) team announced that legislation for Britain’s new publicly owned energy company, Great British Energy, has passed through Parliament.
The press notice stated that the Great British Energy Bill received legislative consent from all three devolved governments, adding that it is first bill to do so under this parliament.
Great British Energy will invest in clean power projects across the UK as part of the government’s Plan for Change to become a clean energy superpower, DESNZ’s press notice stated.
The press notice also pointed out that Great British Energy is backed by GBP 8.3 billion ($11.02 billion) over the course of this parliament and noted that the company “will speed up the delivery of strategic energy projects and invest alongside the private sector to get new technologies like floating offshore wind up and running as part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy”.
In the press notice, UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said, “Great British Energy comes from a simple idea – British people should own and benefit from our own natural resources”.
“We are giving people a stake in clean energy and delivering profits for the British people,” he added.
“As part of our Plan for Change, this will make us a clean energy superpower and help bring down energy bills for good,” he continued.
Great British Energy Chair Juergen Maier said in the press notice, “Great British Energy was created to ensure British people reap the benefits of clean, secure, homegrown energy”.
“We now have full backing to scale up the company, crowd in investment, and back clean energy projects across the country,” he added.
The press notice stated that the Energy Secretary will soon outline Great British Energy’s strategic priorities, “including which technologies the government expects the company to focus on and how it should consider the public benefits from investment decisions”.
A release posted on the UK government website back in March announced that the “first major project” for Great British Energy “is to put rooftop solar panels on around 200 schools and 200 NHS sites, saving hundreds of millions on their energy bills”.
Hundreds of schools, NHS trusts and communities across the UK will benefit from new rooftop solar power and renewable schemes to save money on their energy bills, thanks to a total GBP 200 million ($258.6 million) investment from the UK government and Great British Energy, that release stated.
The first panels are expected to be in schools and hospitals by the end of summer 2025, according to the March release.
In a release sent to Rigzone by DESNZ in February, the organization announced that Dan McGrail had been appointed as the interim Chief Executive Officer of Great British Energy.
When Rigzone asked DESNZ at the time if it had a timeline to appoint a permanent Great British Energy CEO and if McGrail could go on to become the permanent Great British Energy CEO, a DESNZ spokesperson told Rigzone, “Dan will be in post for six months as interim CEO with a possible extension to nine months – during this time we will be recruiting the permanent CEO to take over the position”.
A statement posted on the UK government’s website on January 17 announced that five non-executive directors had been appointed to Great British Energy’s start-up board, “in another step forward for the new, publicly owned energy company that will own and invest in clean energy projects across the UK”.
Great British Energy states on its website that its “mission is clear: to power Britain with clean, secure, home-grown energy and to become a global leader in clean energy”.
“We’ll invest in, develop, build and operate the technology the UK needs to increase our energy independence, and we’ll give communities a direct stake in the clean energy revolution,” Great British Energy adds on its site.
Great British Energy notes on its site that it is an operationally independent company owned by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. The site adds that “the Great British Energy Bill will formally establish the company when it is passed by Parliament”.
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