The UK Government has launched a partnership between Great British Energy and the Crown Estate which it says will deliver billions of pounds in clean power investment.

Responding to the announcement, Claire Mack, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, said:

“Scottish Renewables welcomes today’s announcement which has provided more detail on the role that the UK Government hopes GB Energy will play in the energy market.

“The ambition to fast-track renewable energy deployment recognises the critical role that our industry will play in decarbonising the economy and creating greater energy resilience and ultimately cheaper energy bills, but we still have so much to do to get there.

“Any measures to reduce the time it takes to build projects and build investor confidence will help us to maximise the significant benefits of ScotWind and the Onshore Wind Sector Deal.

“We urgently need to understand how Great British Energy will support the Scottish Government and Crown Estate Scotland with new development and investment in the existing and future pipeline of projects across all technologies here in Scotland.

“I’m really pleased to see that two key areas of focus for GB Energy will be investment and support for energy supply chains as well as local energy projects. Early supply chain investment will support the delivery of our largest ever pipeline of renewable energy projects and help both Scotland and the UK meet their net-zero targets while helping us seize growth opportunities across the globe.

“Having suffered greatly from a lack of policy and investment support for some time, this announcement offers local and smaller energy schemes a significant stake in the transition to net-zero as owners and important stakeholders in local clean power projects.”