Great British Energy lands deal to deliver offshore wind jobs

Britain’s workers in industrial heartlands such as Teesside, Scotland, South Wales and East Anglia are set to benefit from a major deal crowding in investment for the country’s industrial renewal.

The government and Great British Energy, the UK’s publicly owned clean power company, have joined forces with industry and The Crown Estate to invest £1 billion in offshore wind supply chains. This will secure Britain’s renewal through manufacturing facilities and skilled well-paid jobs, delivering on government’s mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower.

Investment comes after the Spending Review confirmed the biggest programme of investment in homegrown energy in history and forms part of the government’s Industrial Strategy – which will include clean energy industries – sending a clear signal to the world to ‘Build it in Britain’.

This investment will power the next generation of offshore wind in Britain, supporting British innovation from blueprint to blade. By backing the manufacturing of turbines, floating platforms, HVDC cables, and cutting-edge technologies, alongside upgrading vital port infrastructure from Leith and Teesside to Great Yarmouth and Port Talbot. This investment will unlock thousands of jobs, kickstarting growth in coastal communities and industrial towns, and secure a cleaner, more independent energy future for Britain.

The funding is made up of:

• £300 million announced by Great British Energy in April, which provides upfront public investment to crowd in funding from the private sector into Britain’s industrial regions
• £400 million from The Crown Estate, intended to support new infrastructure, including ports, supply chain manufacturing and research and testing facilities
• £300 million being developed by the offshore wind industry to match fund government through the Industrial Growth Plan, to deliver new investments into supply chains such as advanced turbines technologies and foundations and substructures

This takes the pot to £1 billion, building the industries of the future in Britain, such as floating offshore wind, and securing the UK as an attractive investment destination for international investors and existing UK companies. 

Funding will support thousands of additional jobs – from the electricians manufacturing the turbines and blades to the engineers responsible for the construction and maintenance of wind farms. The government is giving long-term industrial certainty to hardworking British people as part of the Plan for Change.