Labour ready to launch GB Energy within days if it wins election

Labour is preparing to launch its publicly-owned Great British Energy company within days of the election if it wins, Ed Miliband has said.

In an interview with i, the former Labour leader said the party wanted to get going “very, very quickly” on its plans for the energy company, which it has pledged will help bring down bills over the next parliament by investing in green energy.

A top team has already been assembled to run GB Energy, Mr Miliband said.

The shadow net zero secretary said the reductions to energy costs for households would be “mind-blowing” as a result of Labour’s plan to move to 100 per cent clean power by 2030 – five years earlier than the Tories clean energy pledge.

GB Energy will operate by co-investing in clean energy alongside industry giants, Labour has said, setting aside £8.3bn to fund the initiative over the next parliament.

The party aims to create 650,000 jobs in renewable technologies across the UK – including in Scotland where GB Energy will be headquartered.

“If we win the election, we will be implementing the most ambitious climate and energy agenda in British history,” Mr Miliband said.

He did, however, acknowledge the challenges Labour could face in hitting the party’s goal of an entirely clean energy grid by 2030 – a position that goes much further than those set out in previous Labour manifestos.

In 2019, the party pledged to “put the UK on track for a net-zero-carbon energy system within the 2030s – and go faster if credible pathways can be found”.

The target is far more ambitious than in France, which plans to move to 58 per cent clean energy by the same date, and Germany, which aims for 80 per cent. Both countries also plan to spend significantly more public money than the UK to hit those targets.

Labour’s pledge isn’t a huge departure from the Government’s, however, which has set a target of 95 per cent low carbon electricity by 2030, moving to 100 per cent by 2035 “subject to security of supply”.

Mr Miliband admitted that the UK would need to seek outside investment to reach its 100 per cent clean energy goal by 2030, claiming that “the private sector is desperate to invest here”.

What is clean energy?

Clean energy is energy generated from renewable sources that, when used, creates little or no greenhouse gas emissions.

Examples include solar and wind energy and hydropower, which uses the natural flow of moving water to generate electricity.

Labour’s plans were boosted last month after they were endorsed by Sir Patrick Vallance, the former chief scientific advisor to the Government, who stepped down last year.

He was also quoted in the party’s manifesto this week, where he said: “A national mission for clean power by 2030 is achievable and should be prioritised.

“We desperately need to end the era of high energy bills, excessive carbon emissions and energy insecurity by accelerating the transition to clean, homegrown energy. Britain can lead on this by treating this mission like the vaccine challenge.”

Sir Patrick appeared to criticise the Conservatives’ decision to backtrack on net zero pledges, adding: “If we choose to go slowly, others will provide the answers, and ultimately we’ll end up buying these solutions rather than selling them.”

Writing for The Times, he warned that the race to net zero must be treated with the same urgency as the search for a Covid vaccine, and added that Labour’s pledge was achievable and could be “done fast”.

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“I am often asked which of Britain’s many pressing public policy challenges need a vaccine-style approach,” he said.

“I believe that one such priority is the urgent need to end the era of excessive carbon emissions, high energy bills and energy insecurity by accelerating the net zero transition to clean, homegrown energy.

“With a determined effort using currently available technologies and those that are close to being deployable, a clean power system by 2030 is achievable.”

Speaking to i, Mr Miliband also praised Conservative figures like Chris Skidmore and Alok Sharma for their support of the net zero agenda.

He also acknowledged that former prime minister Boris Johnson was “better than his successors” on the issue because he understood the importance of climate to the public.

“One of the reasons why the Tory net zero retreat hasn’t worked for them is that that’s just not where the British people are,” Mr Miliband added.

Polling has shown that politicians are at odds with voters over net zero and energy policies, and that nearly two thirds of the public believe that reducing fossil fuels and increasing renewable energy is the best way to ensure energy security in the UK.