Will Great British Energy Boost Sustainable UK Projects?
The Great British Energy Bill has passed through Parliament, officially establishing Britain's new publicly-owned energy company.
The company was first announced shortly after the Labour government took office in July 2024, with an aim of accelerating the nation's clean power transition.
Great British Energy will receive huge financial backing from the government totalling £8.3bn (US$10.4bn).
This money will, in part, go towards investments in clean power projects across the UK.
The legislation received consent from all three devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, making it the first bill to do so under this parliament.
"Great British Energy comes from a simple idea: British people should own and benefit from our own natural resources," said Energy Secretary Ed Miliband during a visit to a Hull hospital where solar power is generating significant cost savings.
"We are giving people a stake in clean energy and delivering profits for the British people.”
Great British Energy’s investment strategy is taking shape
In an interview at Innovation Zero in April 2025, Great British Energy's interim CEO Dan McGrail outlined three key areas for the company's investment strategy.
The first focuses on development and investment in projects such as offshore wind and long-duration energy storage.
"We want to enter the market as a developer — it's a very important part of the mandate we've received," Dan explained.
When asked about specific long-duration technologies, he identified several promising options.
"Pumped hydro is the obvious one, that's pretty mature. Liquid air energy storage is a relatively new, very scalable modular technology.
“We see compressed air energy storage which is built around some of the geological features of the UK where projects have been in development for a long time but have never quite been able to get over the line.”
The second investment area, dubbed ‘GB Local’, will focus on stimulating community energy projects, which encompasses small-scale power generation facilities.
The third area targets supply chain investments to support the company's core activities.
Working with the private sector
One of Dan’s foremost principles as interim CEO is that Great British Energy will be designed to complement rather than compete with existing private sector energy companies.
"We are looking to come into the energy industry as a new organisation which is there to work alongside the private sector,” he explained.
“We're not here to compete with the private sector, we're here to stimulate investment.”
This collaborative approach extends to investment strategies, with Dan noting that the company will primarily take minority stakes in projects.
"One of the things I've learned in the first five weeks in this job is that the appetite for GB Energy to come to life and to bring capital to projects to co-invest with companies is actually really high," he said.
Community focus
The company has already launched several initiatives targeting local communities.
For example, Scotland's community energy fund opened applications, backed by £4m (approximately US$5m) from Great British Energy for local clean energy projects.
These could include community-led onshore wind, rooftop solar and hydropower initiatives.
Meanwhile, Welsh communities will benefit from nearly £3m (US$3.8m) for similar local renewable projects.
Supply chain considerations
The company has allocated an initial £300m (US$377m) for offshore wind supply chains to support Britain's engineers, technicians and manufacturing capabilities.
At Innovation Zero, Dan fielded questions regarding Great British Energy’s supply chains, with the company having recently outlawed the procurement of climate tech associated with modern slavery practices.
This amendment will affect the procurement of components for wind turbines made in China, which the UK is currently reliant on.
When asked about why Great British Energy did not already have a principle against modern slavery, Dan said: "The reason why it [the Modern Slavery Amendment] wasn't in there is ultimately because there is a law and there has been a law since 2015 which proscribes that, and ultimately GB Energy would comply with that law.”
“This amendment seeks to create additional oversight to ensure that GB Energy reaches those very high standards.”
Dan also explained that this amendment could help to prioritise climate technologies manufactured in the UK itself.
Industry perspective
Rachel Delacour, CEO of Sweep, gave her perspective on Great British Energy's potential to Sustainability Magazine, especially in light of Ed Miliband calling net zero “the economic opportunity of the 21st century”.
"It's reassuring to see the UK government reaffirm that clean power is central to economic growth,” she says.
“Great British Energy has the potential to drive real change, but it must be backed by strong systems: rigorous data tracking, oversight of its environmental impact and clear guidance for businesses.”
For Rachel, though, government initiatives alone are not fully sufficient.
"Initiatives like Great British Energy are only part of the puzzle in the UK's race to net zero. It must be paired with private-sector action to unlock real progress," she explains.
For those involved in Great British Energy, the company represents a revolution in public services, somewhat akin to the establishment of the NHS.
"Great British Energy was created to ensure British people reap the benefits of clean, secure, homegrown energy,” says Great British Energy Chair Juergen Maier.
“We now have full backing to scale up the company, crowd in investment and back clean energy projects across the country."
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