Member Info for Pask

While not us, there has been today a £180mil financing for BESS projects in England and Wales.

"German energy transition bank Nord/LB has announced a landmark £180m financing deal for a 612MW UK battery portfolio."

https://renews.biz/99447/ces-nets-180m-financing-for-bess-portfolio/

GBE are having their first meeting today. They will have consultations tomorrow. They still seem to be committed to the £8.3bil (for now). There is a lot of emphasis on supply chains in the NE of Scotland. They do want to start as soon as possible with their activities, which is a good sign in my opinion. The crown estate bill also passed some time ago, so it will be interesting to see what the relationship will be like between both organisations going forward.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/first-meeting-of-great-british-energy-board-members

https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3739

Much obliged.

You got source old tramp, or non-public document?

I'm afraid I cannot anwser that question. But if your line of thinking holds, it would be a significant reduction.

This is from a few years ago, but the net worth of PMR was around 5mil. The CEO did predict the PMR would go up five fold from the interview, (if I remeber correctly). I am not sure what the current net worth is, but would be intresting to know. SAE still owns a small percentage of PMR, and I also have a convertable loan in the company.

SOURCE:

https://open.endole.co.uk/insight/company/14226131-proteus-marine-renewables-limited

After having reread your post, yeah. I think we can be slightly more optimistic it won't get cut.

I hope so to. Proof of the pudding is in the eating, so we'll just have to wait to see how things pan out.

Lord's amedndments for GBE. The only thing of note I can see is the Scottish, Welsh and Northen Irish goverments will have to consent (not just be consulted) on the activites GBE. I think the Bill is likely to pass quite easily.

Even though GBE has a reduced buget, the goverment seems only to be considering cutting £3.3bil of its £8.3bil budget. This seems to have been intended for "intended for low-interest loans via local authorities for projects such as solar panels and community owned wind turbines". That still leaves £5bil (for now) in projects not related to this. I think we or Proteus could get some equity from GBE, but not enough to execute the project at MeyGen.

Sources:

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/59-01/0189/240189.pdf

https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/great-british-energy-reported-to-be-hit-with-funding-cuts-in-spending-review-07-03-2025/

IDK, there seems to be a plausible case for joint-ventures between the CE and CES via GBE.

"As the organisation responsible for leasing seabed for offshore wind and other renewable energy projects in Scotland, we welcome the signing of a new agreement between the UK and Scottish Governments, which will enable Great British Energy to develop partnerships with Scottish public bodies. Crown Estate Scotland, which plays a critical role in supporting the delivery of low-carbon energy, including offshore wind, carbon storage, and tidal projects, will now engage with Great British Energy and other key stakeholders to identify areas of mutual interest to help deliver initiatives crucial to the UK’s net-zero future."

Sources:

https://www.crownestatescotland.com/news/crown-estate-scotland-welcome-gb-energy-agreement-between-scottish-and-uk-governments

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/partnerships-between-great-british-energy-and-scottish-public-bodies-vision-statement/scottish-government-desnz-collaborative-agreement-on-partnerhips-between-great-british-energy-and-scottish-public-bodies

No, they are owners but do not make decisions. There may be some soft power there, but they do not have executive authority over the crown estate.

What I would say, there is a precedent for partnerships between the Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland. The following link is a non-commercial example. This does not mean it will happen, but it could happen under the right circumstances IMO.

Sources:

https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/news/crown-estate-scotland-joins-forces-with-the-crown-estate-on-the-uks-world

This is the case. I've checked it.

https://www.crownestatescotland.com/media/key-information#:~:text=Although%20the%20Scottish%20Crown%20Estate,likely%20to%20affect%20the%20Estate.

There has been a lot of overlap between the CE and CE Scotland however in reports. Do we know the exact relationship between the CE and the CE Scotland? There is till the GBE connection. It would all depend in the CE has remit to partake in activities is CE Scotlands' waters. I would need to look into documentation of both companies, unless anyone has a quick anwser to this.

Tidal would be 11% of UK's electricity demand.

In Scotland alone, wave and tidal energy is £8bil.

The Crown Estate's net worth is about £15bil (it has gone down slightly).

The biggest issue is if offshore/floating offshore wind would be worth more. Tidal will always be niche, but if we frame ourselves as a back-up source like nuclear or natrual gas then it would be easier to sell ourselves.

Sources:

https://www.emec.org.uk/six-tidal-stream-projects-successful-in-the-uks-latest-renewable-auctions/

https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/news/the-crown-estate-delivers-a-record-gbp1-1-billion-net-revenue-profit-for-the

https://www.scottishrenewables.com/news/1836-marine-energy-worth-8-billion-to-scottish-economy-report-finds

Mr. T. I believe (though I could be wrong) it is "private", because it is a company that is owned by the Monarch (but not controlled by them). It's not part of the goverment, but its own corporation. It may not go into tidal energy, but if you read between the lines, GBE in the new bill seems to have significant influence to direct where some of the funds go. So it MIGHT go into tidal, but not necessarily so. This is my interpretation of the Bill.

So GBE may act to direct funding into certain places, assuming a credible case can be made to the CE that it won't be too risky an investment. You must remember that the seabed has been leased to SAE via the crown estate. The CE would get money from our success (i) via (I assume) ground rent on the lease and (ii) the loan to which interest is charged.

TRBob. Yes, these loans will be permited by the treasury if you look into the Bill.

There are some intresting details about the Crown Estate which I have come across.

Firstly, the CE Bill is now at Royal Assent stage. They are sitting on the 11th of March. Secondly, I have found this from New Civil Engineer. Focus on what they say about the Crown Estate.

"A government spokesperson said: “We are fully committed to the £8.3bn for GB Energy, which is at the heart of our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower and to ensure our homes are cheaper and cleaner to run. And we are making rapid progress; making Juergen Maier the start-up chair, confirming Aberdeen as HQ, progressing the Great British Energy Bill, and creating an unprecedented partnership with The Crown Estate which has the potential to leverage up to £60bn of private investment into the UK’s drive for energy independence.” "

I didn't know the CE had 60 billion they could use. I understand it may be in the form of a loan rather than an equity stake, but I would suspect the terms would be favourable to us. It would be a de facto loan from the treasury in theory. Am I mad to be slightly optimistic about the tidal part of SAE?

Sources:

https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3739/stages/19720

https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/great-british-energy-reported-to-be-hit-with-funding-cuts-in-spending-review-07-03-2025/

Seems like we could sell multiple BESS projects in Scotland (aimed at wind storage). It would mean that they wouldn't have to shut down the turbines at some points. I suspect management want to focus on USK and MeyGen BESS before all this, but it is an intresting thought.

https://on.ft.com/41A1KEO

"Meanwhile, another of the Labour government’s flagship green initiatives, the National Wealth Fund, has been abruptly reprioritised. Reeves announced on Sunday that the remit of the NWF would be changed so that it could invest in the defence industry as well as its original goal of decarbonising Britain’s heavy industry."

"Ahead of the spending review, ministers are now running the slide rule over whether they can afford to give GB Energy the full £8.3bn, according to people familiar with the discussions, amid mounting pressure on the government finances and a pivot towards greater defence spending. One option under consideration by the Treasury is cutting the £3.3bn previously earmarked for GB Energy to fund low-interest loans via local authorities for projects such as solar panels on roofs and shared-ownership wind projects."

Sorry, renewable claims in NWF will have added competition. The money will not be cut, but we're less likely to get it IMO.