UK and California deepen ties on clean energy to boost investment

• UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and California Governor Gavin Newsom sign new agreement in London, building on decades of cooperation on climate, clean energy and the environment between California and the UK
• The agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), will strengthen partnership to boost transatlantic investment, supporting jobs and industry, and strengthening relationships between research institutions in the UK and California 
• The UK and California are firm partners in driving forward the clean energy transition, to deliver energy security, lower bills, create good jobs, and protect current and future generations with climate action

The UK and California will accelerate partnership on clean energy investment, as UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and California Governor Gavin Newsom today signed a new partnership to accelerate the global race for clean power and tackle the climate and nature crisis.

The Memorandum of Understanding signed today (Monday 16 February) deepens decades of cooperation between the UK and California, and creates a refreshed framework to drive innovation, scale up clean energy technologies and connect businesses and researchers across both economies.

This agreement will connect the UK's fast-growing clean energy sector with the Californian market, opening up new export opportunities, supporting skilled jobs opportunities across the UK and backing British businesses to compete and grow — with companies like Octopus Energy already expanding on the West Coast.

It also delivers a commitment to strengthen cooperation on clean energy, climate and the environment to speed up the rollout of technologies that cut bills for families, reduce exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets and protect the natural environment. This builds on other MoUs signed by the UK focused on economic cooperation with 11 other US states, including Washington and Florida.

The partnership will also see both governments share practical expertise on protecting biodiversity and building resilience for our communities, in the face of extreme weather. This will help protect homes, public services and local economies from the climate crisis.

The UK's and California's clean energy economies are growing rapidly, with the UK's net zero economy growing three times faster than the overall UK economy in 2024 according to the CBI. Meanwhile, California saw similarly rapid clean economic growth, with three times more clean energy jobs being created than jobs created elsewhere in the state's economy.

Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, said:

This government's clean energy mission is about taking back control of our energy to cut bills, create jobs, and tackle the climate crisis. Strong international partnerships like today's announcement with the State of California strengthens opportunities for UK businesses and secures investment for our country.

Governor Gavin Newsom said:

California is the best place in America to invest in a clean economy because we set clear goals and we deliver. Today, we deepened our partnership with the United Kingdom on climate action and welcomed nearly a billion dollars in clean tech investment from Octopus Energy. California will continue showing the world how we can turn innovation and ambition into climate action.

The UK and California share equally ambitious energy and climate targets and have a history of collaboration on policy in this space.

Businesses have backed the agreement, highlighting the significant growth opportunities that will be created.

Nick Chaset, CEO at Octopus Energy US, said:

As a British tech business and investor growing in the US, this MoU opens up opportunities to bring our smart technology to California, cutting energy bills and improving the customer experience. We are already delivering that through our work with Southern California Edison, where the Octopus Shift app enables EVs and home batteries to support the grid and give customers more control over when and how they use energy.

This agreement gives investors like Octopus greater confidence to bring more of our proven technology to the state, like Octopus Electroverse. Already the world's largest public charging platform, live across 1.3 million chargers in 50 countries. It is exactly the kind of customer-first innovation we are excited to scale through closer UK-California collaboration.