RWE welcomes the Labour Party’s ‘Clean Energy Mission’ and its work to develop an ambitious policy programme for Government that seeks to drive further investment in clean, affordable and secure domestic energy supplies.

The transition to a greener, cleaner and more sustainable economy presents a major opportunity for the UK. We are facing an increasingly competitive world in pursuit of the prizes of the transition and,  following the early lead it has established, the UK cannot afford to fall behind.

Whilst the Labour’s Party’s 2030 targets are very ambitious and will be extremely challenging to achieve, given the priority to get to net zero and the economic opportunities presented by the green economy, we welcome the ambition and ‘stretch’ mentality.

To have any chance of delivering on these aims, whoever is in government needs to urgently provide clarity on market reform, commit to levels of support under the CfD regime that recognises the challenges and competition in the global supply chain and resolve well-recognised issues on grid and planning, as well as taking steps to ensure the UK remains at the top of the rankings for investment attractiveness.

We welcome the Labour Party’s proposal for a ‘Partnership Approach’ to maximise the benefits of the energy transition through joint working between government, industry and wider stakeholders.

There is a clear role for Government in bringing forward investment in key UK infrastructure, such as ports and the supply chain, that provide the basis for future project deployment, through initiatives such as Labour’s proposed ‘National Wealth Fund’.

If the UK wishes to maximise the supply chain and employment benefits from renewables deployment, the CfD rules can no longer simply solely prioritise a ‘race to the bottom’ on costs. Whilst we don’t want to move completely away from such a system, reform is needed to ensure more focus is given to accelerated renewables deployment and support for the UK supply chain.

RWE will also play its part in delivering long-term, high-quality employment opportunities in the UK clean energy sector, where we have a long history of positive working relationships with trade unions, dating back more than 20 years. We already employ around 3,000 people in the UK, with growing opportunities in the delivery of our future energy project pipeline.

We note the Labour Party’s proposals for ensuring ‘Good Jobs’ and ‘Building UK Supply Chains’ and look forward to more detail in due course.

RWE strongly welcomes the Labour Party’s focus on the key issues that frustrate the development and deployment of our projects. Lack of grid infrastructure is the single biggest blocker to deployment of new low carbon power. Some progress is being made, but it is not yet having the impact needed. This risks making the UK’s 2030 targets unachievable.

RWE sees a role for GB Energy to play, alongside the proposed National Wealth Fund, to unlock critical investment in key UK infrastructure and technology that cannot be taken forward by the private sector alone.

RWE has a strong track record of developing low carbon projects in partnership with local communities, both in the UK and in other markets. We welcome the underlying aims in the proposed ‘Local Power Plan’ to strengthen local support and deployment for clean energy projects.