Douglas Alexander MP has welcomed the passage of legislation to establish Great British Energy, which will see people in East Lothian and across the UK benefit from cleaner, homegrown power.

Great British Energy, the new publicly-owned energy company, will invest in clean power projects across the UK as part of the government’s Plan for Change to become a clean energy superpower – helping to get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel prices and protect families’ finances.

Backed by £8.3 billion over the course of this parliament, the company will speed up the delivery of strategic energy projects and invest alongside the private sector to get new technologies like floating offshore wind up and running as part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy.

As part of this investment, yesterday Scotland’s community energy fund opened for applications, backed by £4 million from Great British Energy for local clean energy projects – from community-led onshore wind, to solar on rooftops and hydropower in rivers – generating profits which could be reinvested into community projects or take money off people’s bills.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said:

“Great British Energy comes from a simple idea: British people should own and benefit from our own natural resources.

“We are giving people a stake in clean energy and delivering profits for the British people.

“As part of our Plan for Change, this will make us a clean energy superpower and help bring down energy bills for good.”

Douglas Alexander MP said:

“I’m delighted that Great British Energy has now been formally established and can start scaling up its work supporting clean energy projects across the country. 

“The investment it is set to make will help ensure that people in East Lothian reap the benefits of clean, secure, homegrown energy.”

Today Great British Energy will host a roundtable in Edinburgh alongside the Scottish Secretary, Ian Murray, focussed on the supply chain opportunities in Scotland. It follows Great British Energy’s initial £300 million funding for offshore wind supply chains. This will support Britain’s engineers, technicians, and welders and invest in offshore wind manufacturing components such as floating offshore platforms and cables in the UK’s industrial heartlands.

The Great British Energy Bill received legislative consent from all three devolved governments, the first Bill to under this parliament. This will allow Great British Energy to operate more effectively in every devolved nation and benefit people across the UK.