Record renewables auction to support up to 7,000 good jobs and crowd in £3bn of private sector investment across UK
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Record offshore wind auction crowds in £3.4bn of private
investment to build factories, ports and domestic
supply chains across the country, with up to £1.1
billion for Scotland
alone, boosting ports like Nigg and
Aberdeen and Scottish factories. Every £1 of
public money invested through
the government's new Clean Industry
Bonus leverages £17 from industry...Request free trial
Workers across Britain will benefit from billions of pounds of private sector investment in ports and supply chains, thanks to the Government's record renewables auction combined for the first time with its Clean Industry Bonus. The government has today (Thursday 15 January) announced that, as a result of the record renewables auction AR7, £204 million of public investment to incentivise domestic jobs and supply chains has leveraged £3.4 billion of private investment, which will flow into British manufacturing, factories and ports. This means successful offshore wind projects will procure the infrastructure for their projects from right across Britain's industrial heartlands. Backed by record government and private sector investment in clean energy such as renewables and nuclear, the clean energy economy is sparking a boom in demand for good industrial jobs in all regions and nations of the UK. The results mean for every £1 of public money spent, £17 of private money is invested in developing supply chains in some of the most deprived areas of the country. This supports up to 7,000 jobs according to industry estimates, including good, skilled jobs like electricians, welders and engineers. The government expects the offshore wind industry to support 100,000 jobs by 2030, with access to trade unions and fair wages. The results will bring huge benefits to the industrial base of Scotland in particular, with an up to £1.1 billion supply chain investment boom and up to 2,400 clean energy jobs. This will help revitalise and reindustrialise hardworking towns and cities that have powered Britain for decades. Investment will flow to Scottish ports like Nigg and Aberdeen, and manufacturers of offshore wind equipment in Scotland. Delivering on the government's energy mission will create up to 40,000 extra jobs in Scotland by 2030. The record renewables auction announced yesterday secured the biggest single procurement of offshore wind energy in European history - confounding the global challenges facing the industry and securing a major vote of confidence in the UK's new era of energy sovereignty and abundance. This auction, known as Contracts for Difference AR7, secured a record capacity of 8.4GW of offshore wind which will generate enough clean electricity to power the equivalent of over 12 million homes. The new jobs come on top of the 400,000 new jobs that the Government's Clean Energy Mission is delivering by 2030. Backed by record government and private sector investment in clean energy such as renewables and nuclear, the clean energy economy is sparking a boom in demand for good industrial jobs in all regions and nations of the UK – with 31 priority occupations such as plumbers, electricians, and welders particularly in demand. This includes jobs sparked by the decision to give Sizewell C the green light, which will support 10,000 jobs at peak construction, announced Rolls Royce as the preferred bidder for the small modular reactor programme to support up to 3,000 jobs, and kickstarted the Acorn and the Viking projects in Scotland and the North East that is estimated to support a combined 35,000 jobs, including 1,000 apprenticeships. This builds on the 4,000 jobs already set to be created in CCUS projects in the North West and Teesside. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “We promised to take back control of our energy with clean, homegrown power – and today we're delivering in a way that brings good industrial jobs for Scotland and the rest of the country. “Billions in investment will flow into hardworking industrial communities to build clean energy supply chains in Britain. This is how we revitalise our proud industrial heartlands and secure our energy future and bring bills down for the long term.” Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “Our clean energy mission is creating thousands of good jobs for working people in their hometown, bringing transformational opportunities for Britain and reversing decades of industrial decline. “This investment in clean, homegrown power will be felt for decades, powering Scotland's future and backing the proud industrial base of our country.” As part of this auction, the government introduced a “Clean Industry Bonus” - a financial incentive to support developers who invest in UK supply chains, and in cleaner factories. This was announced by the Prime Minister ahead of COP29, delivering on a manifesto pledge and illustrating the government's commitment to build it in Britain and create good jobs through the drive for clean, homegrown power.
The bonus is a first-of-a-kind initiative for
the country, and delivers an unprecedented
investment into Britain's industrial base. This is a significant vote in confidence for Britain's Industrial Strategy, with many of the critical components for clean, homegrown energy – such as foundations, blades, port infrastructure and cables – to be built in Britain. As Britain races to meet rising energy demand, expected to more than double by 2050, and cut energy bills, the question is not whether to build, but what to build to meet that demand most cheaply. The auction results and new analysis from the government shows offshore wind, alongside solar and onshore wind remain cheaper to build and operate than new gas. The government's mission for clean power by 2030 will also help make the UK energy secure again, getting households and businesses off the fossil fuel rollercoaster, controlled by petrostates and dictators, which caused the worst cost of living crisis in memory. Note for editors:
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