Member Info for Pask

There is some more stuff on the relation between GBE and NWF which seems to have slipped me by regarding Great British Energy’s developer mandate. Again, there is little new here per se, but it reiterates that government have not (as of yet) changed course and "dumped the green crap" just yet. The extent by which GBE acts as a facilitator for various organisations (specifically Scottish) is also of note for SAE's tidal division, as it allows sufficient means for joint ventures (as I have suggested before).

The key thing is that GBE will exist as an "expert development partner" for NWF, which is the "UK government’s principal investor and policy bank with a mandate to mobilise additional private capital in support of the UK’s growth and clean energy missions".

Specifically, GBE will focus on "co-developing projects with partners, through equity stakes and joint ventures" and "investing in more developed projects that are entering construction or are already in operation, to help build GBE’s development expertise as it scales up". Interestingly, they are trying to model the synergy on how Japan and Denmark go about these things.

One question I have is how much can GBE use at the moment. They had a handicap of £125mil during the autumn budget but seem to have used more. With the advent of the spring budget and the company just about set up, will they have more finance (the £8bil) to play with, or are they still only able to use pocket change.

We're still waiting on the GBE Bill sitting. Next date is the 30th of April. There's also a recent report mentioned by Monteal news about GBE, but can't access it.

Other than that, fairly quiet at the moment.

SOURCES:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/great-british-energy-developer-role-and-partnership-with-national-wealth-fund/great-british-energy-developer-role-and-partnership-with-national-wealth-fund

https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3738

https://www.gbe.gov.uk/relationships

https://montelnews.com/news/7ecfb91d-9456-43e3-9139-2887627fce5b/gb-energy-should-be-wholesale-power-market-maker-study

So, we know with the Crown Estate bill that: "the Crown Estate will benefit from greater flexibility over how and where it invests, freeing up more opportunities for investment in areas of national importance like offshore energy development and associated supply chain infrastructure". These developments in supply chains, I would presume, would also benefit the SAE tidal division (even if we do not produce wind turbines, having the infrastructure and industrial base there to develop tidal turbines via Proteus IP will be useful). For example, CE has recently opened a £15m offshore wind port fund with a picture on one of the links showing the Port of Nigg. The NWF has also mentioned a focus on developing port infrastructure. The 60bil leverage has also been referred to again in the CE GOV document, as well as CE holding assets rather than selling them to invest. The NWF meanwhile "will unlock over £70 billion in private investment to help deliver economic growth", but that merely seems to be an intention as of now.

We may or may not get anything from CE itself, but these are still useful concurrent developments IMO. The biggest (yet expected) disappointment so far is that the CE is focusing on offshore wind development with its currently.

Sources:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-powers-for-the-crown-estate-to-invest-in-britains-future

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellors-national-wealth-fund-to-deliver-growth-and-boost-security

https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/crown-estate-announces-15m-funding-round-for-offshore-wind-infrastructure-02-04-2025/

https://www.energyvoice.com/renewables-energy-transition/wind/569093/crown-estate-offshore-wind-port-fund/

Do we know when the update occurs Deutscher?

Actual Podcast:

https://energyvoiceoutloud.podbean.com/e/evol-x-scottish-enterprise-its-high-tide-time-for-scotlands-energy-mix/

Https://www.energyvoice.com/renewables-energy-transition/568667/scotland-tidal-energy/

I suspect it's people prepping for "something", whenever that something materialises or not. It's a good sign at least.

It was my intuition, but just wanted to know the official time an RNS was expected. We still have Monday, but I expect it could be in April, May or later. Who knows?

Again, a user on the ADVFN forum posted something interesting. A few days ago DRAX put in a cash offer to HEIT worth aprx. £200mil. This is the second instance I have seen related to an increased appetite to finance BESS projects. They are of the opinion that the next few months will be noteworthy for the company, and I tend to agree to put it mildly. The next 4-6 months will be interesting. We know SAE have been put in touch with potential investors for UskBESS, so it will be intresting to see how those conversations pan out.

Source:

https://www.theaic.co.uk/aic/news/industry-news/drax-to-acquire-harmony-energy-income-trust-in-ps1999m-all-cash-deal

Cheers, Mr. T.

I fear we may not, but would be glad to be proved otherwise.

God, I hope so. Weren't we meant to be getting some news on Usk regarding completion of the first BESS project on site this month?

There's some information about Proteus here. Their turbines are in demand it seems.

https://www.offshore-energy.biz/orpc-files-draft-license-for-alaska-tidal-energy-project/

Was not expecting that...

Hence, "hope".

Feel your pain. What type of engineer?

From Wednesday, 19 March 2025. Good summary of the current industry in the UK, Europe and Globally. Mentions MeyGen as the crème de la crème of UK Marine projects (i.e., "world’s largest at 398 MW"). Indonesia has massive potential for this technology, which I had not seriously considered till now. They could generate 3x their energy needs apparently.

I hope the UK starts seeing this and other green technologies as strategic assets (and they don't just flog it off). Drew Blaxman of Proteus mentioned in passing during that one investor presentation from ages back that they wanted to do deep sea currents eventually. If Proteus could make that economically viable, that would be a game changer IMO.

https://www.energyglobal.com/other-renewables/19032025/eic-report-uk-emerges-as-global-leader-in-wave-and-tidal-energy/

From Yesterday.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statement-of-strategic-priorities-to-the-national-wealth-fund

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67daabfa1a60f796430283fd/Strategic_Steer_to_NWF_-_final.pdf

Not much new information there, but both MeyGen and UskBESS both fit the scope on NWF remit. It still keeps its increased risk appetite. It's nice to have so many different avenues of potential government support. Still waiting on the consideration of amendments for the GBE Bill. They are sitting down on the 25th of March for that.

Granted, for OM it might be good.

A shame.

Https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd65px9461do

I'm recycling this from a ADVFN post. I see R. Evans (on the recent RNS) also made a statement about tidal energy on the Severm.

"Welsh government Economy Secretary, Rebecca Evans, said: "We want to make Wales a world centre for emerging tidal technologies, and the Severn Estuary is a source of immense potential energy as one of the highest tidal ranges in the world."

One question I have is: Would Proteus turbines be sufficent for the Severn? The tidal enviroment of MeyGen is diffrent to the one of the Severn, so I don't know if they would work as well as say the lagoon model that seems to be under consideration. We have passed enviromental considertations at MeyGen, but that does not mean that Proteus turbines might run into enviromental rejections if placed in the Severn.

VERY intresting...

Good find.