The UK Government has launched a new industry bonus to support the manufacturing of clean energy and highly skilled jobs in industrial towns and cities.

Offshore wind developers can now apply for financial support if they drive investment in the most disadvantaged regions of the UK, build low-carbon factories, or support net-zero local supply chains.

According to government information, the application window for the Clean Industry Bonus has opened, providing financial support to offshore wind developers, with the condition that they prioritize their investment in the areas that need it most, including traditional oil and gas communities, while supporting highly skilled jobs such as engineers, electricians, or welders.

In this way, industrial hubs and coastal areas will receive an important economic boost as the government supports renewable energy companies investing in disadvantaged communities, thus backing good jobs through the government's Transition Plan.

The support also rewards developers who build more sustainable, low-carbon factories, offshore wind blades, cables, and ports to reduce industrial emissions throughout the clean energy supply chain.

By encouraging developers to use less polluting suppliers, the bonus will help address the climate crisis while tackling supply chain blockages in renewable technologies driven by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, supporting the industry’s transition to clean, secure, and local energy that the UK controls.

The UK produces more offshore wind energy than any other European country, making it the backbone of plans to create a clean energy system by 2030 and become a clean energy superpower.

This bonus will help accelerate the push towards clean energy, incentivizing developers to build the infrastructure the country needs to end its dependence on unstable fossil fuel markets and help keep energy bills low forever.

Investments

Since July, the government has seen £34.8 billion in private investment in the UK’s clean energy industries. In November, the government launched its carbon capture and storage industry, supporting 4,000 jobs in the Northwest and Teesside. ScottishPower awarded a £1 billion turbine contract for its East Anglia TWO offshore wind farm to Siemens Gamesa, including blade production at its Hull blade factory; the company employs over 1,300 people in Humberside.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said they are backing manufacturing, coastal, and oil and gas communities with good jobs, skills, and private sector investment, fulfilling the government’s Transition Plan.

“This is our clean energy superpower mission in action, driving growth, providing energy security, and transforming towns and cities as part of the transition, from the ports of Nigg and Leith to the manufacturing hubs of Blyth and Hull.”

Steve Foxley, CEO of Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, said that this news is an important signal from the government to the industry about its intention to grow our offshore wind sector in a way that benefits both our climate and economy, supporting the expansive creation of regional jobs and strengthening national energy security.

Dan McGrail, CEO of RenewableUK, stated that the offshore wind industry already employs more than 34,000 people in the UK, but there is an opportunity to triple this number by the end of the decade if we expand the sector’s supply chain. Government initiatives such as the Clean Industry Bonus, along with industry initiatives to support innovation and the upcoming Industrial Strategy, could drive hundreds of millions of pounds of private investment into new industries.

While it is right to focus on securing investment in the manufacturing of new foundations, blades, and cables for turbines, we must not forget that there are also thousands of jobs in the construction and maintenance of wind farms. You can go to places across the country such as Grimsby, Great Yarmouth, and Buckie in the Moray Firth and see boats full of engineers ensuring that our wind farms operate at maximum efficiency.