GB Energy is Keir Starmer’s idea for a state-owned clean energy company
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband (Image: Getty)
GB Energy is a “needless new quango” that crowds out private finance in clean energy, Tories have warned.
They said the initiative, which will cost taxpayers £8.3billion, is another sign of Labour’s “heavy-handed” approach to governing Britain.
Ashley Fox MP said: “GB Energy is just another sign of Labour’s heavy-handed approach to governing Britain. Rather than unlocking the significant sums of private sector cash that is ready to invest in renewables, GB Energy will crowd it out and waste taxpayers’ money.
“This shows a complete lack of understanding of the challenges facing the green economy.
“In Teesside, the last government used clever cuts to red tape and tax to unlock economic rejuvenation and investment in green industries. Instead of tax hikes on business to fund more quangos, we need to remove the barriers to business investment into Britain’s clean energy industry.”
The publicly owned energy company will own, manage and operate clean power projects, such as wind farms.
It will be headquartered in Scotland and paid for by a windfall tax on oil and gas giants.
Blake Stephenson MP said: “The Government is trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. GB Energy is a needless new quango that crowds out private finance in clean energy.
“It is a waste of taxpayers’ money when we could – and should – let private investment take the lead.
Sam Payne, senior climate programme manager at the Conservative Environment Network, warned taxpayer spending on GB Energy cannot match what the private sector will provide.
He added: “Whilst the Government has committed £8.3billion over the course of this Parliament, the private sector is expected to invest over 12 times as much in the clean energy transition – the government shouldn’t risk crowding this investment out.
“By investing in a sector that already has significant private capital, the government risks wasting taxpayer money, at a time when households and government expenditure is already under pressure.
“Instead, the Government should be investing taxpayers’ money into environmental schemes that require public finance, such as uplifting the nature-friendly farming budget, supporting nuclear energy and electrifying railways.”
GB Energy’s Aberdeen headquarters hopes to create hundreds of jobs and may even reach more than 1,000.
This is part of Labour’s plans for GB Energy to generate around 650,000 jobs across Britain by 2030.
A Labour spokesman said: “Whereas the last Conservative Government left Britain at the mercy of fossil fuel dictators, this Labour Government will protect consumers by securing clean, homegrown power for our country.
“A crucial part of that is Great British Energy, which is based on the simple idea that the British people should own a share of the clean power we generate.
“The majority of the British people, including the majority of Conservative voters, back Great British Energy, because they know that it is time we took back control of our energy system.”
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