ScottishPower boss hopes to double UK energy investment by 2030

The boss of ScottishPower has said he hopes to double the company’s investment in UK energy projects to as much as £24bn if Labour’s policy changes bear fruit.

Chief executive Keith Anderson said ScottishPower has a spending programme of £12bn in the years to 2028 but he would “like to double that by 2030”.

Although he would not commit to funding, he told the PA news agency: “If the government can halve the time it takes to get projects through the planning stages, I will double the amount of money I invest in this country.

“The government wants to have clean energy by 2030 and quadruple offshore wind energy by 2030.

“To achieve that, companies need to double the amount they invest (in the UK), and that’s what we want to do.”

ScottishPower supplies energy to 4.4 million homes and businesses, builds onshore and offshore wind farms and operates large parts of the electricity grid in Scotland and parts of England and Wales.

The money would be used for green energy projects, such as installing more wind turbines, he said, as well as improving the size and reach of the grid, which is expected to come under pressure from the shift to renewables.

However, the plans depend on whether Labour’s planning and energy policy reforms bear fruit.

Earlier this month, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband scrapped a de facto ban on onshore wind farms, reversing planning measures introduced for Britain by the Conservatives under David Cameron in 2015.

Onshore wind energy was treated differently under the rules than other developments. Projects could not be carried out if there were objections.

Mr Anderson said: “If we can build a project in two years, then it shouldn’t be in the planning system for more than two years. At the moment these projects can be there for more than seven years.

“The government says they are focused on accelerating projects through that system, and that is exactly what we want to see.”

On Thursday, Labour announced it would also work with the monarchy’s property company, The Crown Estate, which owns Britain’s seabed, to accelerate investment in and construction of offshore wind farms through a new state-owned energy company, GB Energy.

Business groups urged the government to provide more detail on how the partnership would work in practice, to allay concerns that GB Energy could act as a competitor and hamper companies’ investment plans.

Dan McGrail, CEO of energy group RenewableUK, said it was “critical that (GB Energy) does not disrupt the billions of pounds of private investment the government needs to realise its clean energy ambitions. The next steps in its development must therefore be shaped in close collaboration with the sector”.

Speaking ahead of GB Energy’s announcement, Anderson said he was “optimistic” after hearing Sir Keir Starmer speak at a meeting of business leaders in the gardens of 10 Downing Street on Wednesday.

“Whether it’s at the reception (on Wednesday) or at any of the other meetings we’ve had with the government over the last 10 days, there’s a very positive atmosphere that things are going to change, that we’re going to work together and that we’re going to achieve this economic growth.”

A complicating factor is that it is ultimately a decision for his bosses at Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, which owns ScottishPower and has subsidiaries in North and South America.

Mr Anderson said: “As a country we compete for capital, just like Spain, America, Brazil and Mexico, because we invest in many different countries.

“The faster I can move projects through the (planning) process, the more competitive I can be and accelerate the amount of capital I can raise.”