Prime Minister Keir Starmer said today that the East Anglia Two offshore wind farm is the sort of project that must be replicated “again and again”.
Ministers said while speaking at the International Investment Summit today that the new government will turbocharge investment in green energy technologies and rip up red tape.
“We will rip up the bureaucracy that blocks investment,” the prime minister vowed today, promising investors that he will make sure regulators “take growth as seriously as this room does”.
Starmer described the £4 billion East Anglia Two offshore wind farm off the Suffolk coast, which will produce almost 1 GW of clean energy for the UK, as “an important project”.
He said the wind farm is the sort of thing that a country as committed to clean energy as the UK is, “needs to replicate again and again”. He made the comments while speaking at the government’s inaugural investment summit.
Regulators demanded more than 4,000 planning documents for the wind farm before it was held up by judicial review just weeks after receiving planning consent.
“When you see that kind of inertia you don’t bother,” Starmer said of investors seeking to invest in the UK, describing red tape as the biggest ‘supply side’ problem the country has.
Modern Industrial Strategy
The prime minister hailed the launch of a new industrial strategy designed to mobilise private investment and modernise industrial planning, which lists clean energy industries as a top priority.
Starmer also emphasised his government’s focus on economic growth as a vital part of the new leadership, saying that the UK is “open for business”.
His message was that government wants to partner with the private sector to realise growth in clean energy and renewable energy while being guided by the market.
Starmer said he was committed to removing red tape that could hinder investment, highlighting a focus on making the country’s economy more dynamic.
He announced new partnerships and investments from global companies such as asset manager Blackstone Group and Amazon, with a focus on infrastructure and clean energy.
He said partnerships with the likes of BP PLC and Equinor ASA on carbon capture and storage shows the “hard-headed approach we will take for industrial strategy”.
Starmer said he viewed this strategy as “a partnership, sharing risks with the private sector”.
Starmer said the government’s “door is open” and that the work of change has already begun, for example in getting rid of the ban on onshore wind.
“We are reforming the planning system, the onshore wind ban is gone,” the prime minister said, announcing backing for new projects in solar, wind, tidal energy and carbon capture and storage, alongside tax relief for creative industries.
He hailed investment from the world’s leading companies, such as Blackstone, Amazon, alongside partnerships with BP and Equinor on CCS projects, and a new partnership with CyrusOne to build datacentres.
A £1 billion investment from Manchester Airports Group to expand Stansted airport is expected to be the first of tens of billions of pounds of investment deals the government hopes to sign with investors today.
“We are determined to lead the world on growth” and to “get Britain building”, said Starmer.
His speech underscored the government’s commitment to creating a favourable environment for investment and growth, particularly in the green energy sector.
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