Great British Energy has inked a deal with government, industry, and the Crown Estate for new investment aimed at creating offshore wind jobs in Britain. 

The Crown Estate will invest £400m to support new infrastructure, including ports, supply chain manufacturing, and research and testing facilities. 

Meanwhile £300m will come from industry to deliver new investments into supply chains such as advaced turbines technologies, foundations, and substructures. 

This comes on top of the £300m already announced by Great British Energy in April, bringing the total pot to £1bn. 

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband (pictured) said: “This is an unprecedented collaboration between public and private investors with Great British Energy crowding in millions of private sector investment from industry and The Crown Estate, to ensure that British companies and workers win the global race for clean energy.

“We are witnessing the coming of age of Britain’s green industrial revolution as we build this new era of clean energy abundance, helping deliver new jobs, energy security and lower household bills through our Plan for Change.”

Great British Energy Chief Executive Dan McGrail added: “By providing state-backed, catalytic investment, we can deliver on our remit to crowd-in investment, giving much needed certainty to developers and investors in the clean energy sector.” 

The government will also allocate up to £544 million from its Clean Industry Bonus, which provides funding to offshore wind developers for prioritising their investment into some of Britain’s disadvantaged communities, targeting regions such as Scotland, the North East, and East Anglia.

Subject to the outcome of this year’s renewables auction, industry estimates this new funding could support up to 14,000 jobs, and drive up to £9 billion of private funding into these communities over the next four years. 

Developers are set to contribute to the pot once they have secured Contracts for Difference in the next auction round, AR7. 

Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said: “Scotland is at the heart of our plans to become a clean energy superpower and put more money in the pockets of working Scots by investing in the country’s renewal as part of our Plan for Change.

Source: reNews