Labour-Led Parliament Clears Great British Energy Bill

The British Parliament has passed the much-awaited Great British Energy Bill, giving statutory powers to the clean energy-focused state-owned investment body in Britain, Great British Energy (GB Energy), under the Labour Party-led government’s Plan for Change.  

It is aimed at making the UK a clean energy ‘superpower’ and lowering its reliance on volatile-priced fossil-fuels.    

The GB Energy is mandated to invest in clean power projects across the UK, backed by £8.3 billion ($11 billion) in funding over the term of the current Parliament.

It has been set up to operate as an independent energy company with the entire UK under its territorial coverage. It will invest in clean energy projects alongside the private sector to get them off the ground, lead projects from development to delivery, support local energy projects by working with local authorities, and build supply chains across the region.

Located in Aberdeen, GB Energy is already investing £200 million in new rooftop solar power and renewable energy schemes for schools, hospitals and communities (see UK To Solarize 200 Schools & 200 Hospitals).   

“Great British Energy was created to ensure British people reap the benefits of clean, secure, homegrown energy,” said 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.” 

With the passage of the legislation, GB Energy has also opened a £4 million ($5.3 million) funding scheme to target clean energy projects in Scottish communities. Under this call, community-owned energy projects in Scotland will be eligible for funding to install clean energy projects to lower electricity bills and provide energy security.  

Onshore wind, rooftop solar and hydropower are the participating technologies for this funding, according to an announcement on the government website.   

The GB Energy’s £4 million is part of the £8 million ($10.6 million) Community Energy Generation Growth Fund, with the remaining funding coming from the Scottish government.  

According to a recent Solar Energy UK report, the UK had a combined solar generation capacity of 20 GW at the end of 2024, comprising 4.2 GW on homes and commercial-scale rooftops each, and 11.5 GW mounted on the ground. The country also had 1 GW of battery energy storage systems (BESS) capacity installed. It expects the country’s solar capacity to expand to 90 GW in 2035 with 15.3 GW installed on homes, 15.3 GWat commercial scale, and 59.3 GW of solar farms. It expects residential and commercial scale BESS installations to hit 8.3 GW with 33.3 GW at grid-scale.