The Energy Secretary insists protecting UK’s security is “non-negotiable” as a number of Chinese firms exhibited at a high-profile London conference on offshore wind power
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has sought to allay fears over China’s involvement in Britain’s booming offshore wind farm industry. Critics are concerns about Chinese firms’ dealings on national security grounds. Mr Miliband insisted: “National security is a non-negotiable for us. This government will never compromise on that, so any investment will be looked at through that lens.”
He was speaking at the Global Offshore Wind conference in London, whose sponsors include China’s CNOOD-Wenchong Heavy Industries and Dajin Heavy Industry. Mr Miliband dismissed links between Chinese involvement and a new climate agreement with Beijing. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero insisted it “does not reference investment or commercial opportunities between the UK and China”. “It is completely negligent to not engage with the world’s largest climate emitter,” Mr Miliband insisted.
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It came as a £1billion pot was announced to turbo-charge investment in the UK’s offshore wind sector, promising thousands of new jobs. The government’s new Great British Energy is providing £300million of upfront investment – announced in April – which it is hoped it will lead to the same in match funding from industry. The Crown Estate has also committed £400m.
Mr Miliband said the “unprecedented” collaboration would help deliver clean energy jobs, energy security and lower bills, with investment in areas such as Teeside, Scotland, South Wales and East Anglia. The government believes it will unlock thousands of jobs, kickstarting growth in coastal communities and industrial towns.
He hit back at critics of Labour’s net zero drive, with a number of green levies added to household energy bills. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is among opponents, and this month suggested some Welsh coal mines could be reopened. “The forces that want to take us backwards have to reckon not just with the government, but with all the companies that are creating these jobs,” Mr Miliband said.
“If you think about where we are clean energy and net zero, there is a fight, and we going to win this fight, partly because of all the jobs these companies are creating with us working in partnership with them.
“It represents a coming of age of the green industrial revolution. We know that offshore wind offers a chance for a long-term reduction in wholesale prices and that is the backbone, the absolute foundation, for bringing bills down.”
Jane Cooper, deputy chief executive RenewableUK, organiser of the Global Offshore Wind conference, said: “A concerted focus from industry and government on growing the offshore wind industry’s supply chain in the UK could deliver an extra 10,000 jobs between now and 2035, boosting the UK’s economy by £25billion.
“Our sector is stepping up, working closely with the Energy Secretary and the Crown Estate to create new opportunities for manufacturing high-value goods like turbine towers, blades, foundations and cables, and providing high quality jobs building, operating and maintaining offshore wind farms.”
Firms exhibiting at the conference backed the UK as a place to invest. Benj Sykes, UK country manager for Orsted, said: “The long-term fundamentals for our sector are only getting stronger.”
However, it comes a month after the Danish firm halted work on one of the UK’s biggest offshore wind farms. Orsted blamed the rising costs of its Hornsea 4 project, higher interest rates and the increasing risk of not finishing the project on time.
In addition to the £1billion funding, which has not yet been allocated to specific projects, the Government has announced it will allocate up to £544million from its “clean industry bonus”. The bonus scheme provides funding to offshore wind developers for prioritising investment in some of the UK’s most deprived communities and in cleaner supply chains, with companies pledging to invest in regions such as Scotland, the North East and East Anglia.
Up to £200million has been allocated to clean energy facilities such as electrical equipment and heavy steel products in the North East, unlocking up to £4billion in private sector investment, while up to £185million will go to Scotland, unlocking up to £3.5 billion for ports and wind farm components.
The East of England will get up to £20million from the bonus, and Northern Ireland has been allocated £25million, with industry estimating the cash could support up to 14,000 jobs and drive up to £9 billion of private funding into the regions over the next four years.
The funding for the clean industry bonus would be paid for through bills, adding less than £2 a year over the next four years, officials said.