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  What Labour’s Great British Energy really means for Scotland and is nuclear on the cards?

We know it will be based in Scotland, we know it’s going to invest
in green energy projects, and aim to leverage private investment into the
same. But Thursday’s announcement has thrown up more questions about the
specifics which the Government are yet to answer – especially on what the
project means for Scotland.

There remains no clarity on when people might
expect to see energy bill pressures easing up on their household finances.
The Government has only gone as far as to say that bill reductions can be
expected within the next five years, as a result of their actions. Crown
Estate Scotland is a devolved body and the revenue raised through rents
north of the Border is sent back to the Scottish Government. Its reserved
counterpart can invest directly in Scotland, however, and the two bodies
already work closely together on some projects.

Whether the Crown Estate Scotland will get the same new borrowing powers as its rest-of-UK
counterpart remains to be seen. GB Energy will seek to work alongside GB
Nuclear, a vehicle which came about under the previous government.

This could raise red flags for the Scottish Government, which remains opposed to
nuclear power. It is understood the UK Government views nuclear policy as a
matter for the Scottish Government. And while the Scottish Government said
on Thursday that it believed the “UK Government’s intended investment
in nuclear should instead be used to bolster further renewables” a
spokesperson added there was otherwise a “great deal of agreement between
the two Governments on many of the priorities that have been identified”.

 The National 25th July 2024

https://www.thenational.scot/news/24477272.labours-gb-energy-really-means-scotland-nuclear/

July 27, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK