- Grant Shapps pledges better UK vitality independence as a necessity in wake of Russia’s battle in Ukraine and vows to ship this
- comes as UK and US Power Secretaries meet in London for the primary time
- US-UK Strategic Power Dialogue comes at a essential second because the UK and US kick-start new avenues for worldwide collaboration
- each ministers will meet with inexperienced innovators, to facilitate joint funding and scale up for British and American corporations
The UK and US stand united in delivering a cleaner, cheaper and safer vitality future, Power Safety Secretary Grant Shapps and US Power Secretary Jennifer Granholm mentioned at present.
For the UK, Grant Shapps pledged this might imply ever better vitality independence – powering Britain from Britain by switching to home-grown sources together with nuclear and renewables.
Assembly in London for the primary time the two heads of the UK and US vitality departments made clear they stand shoulder to shoulder with President Zelensky and the residents of Ukraine of their combat towards the Russian invasion – the reason for unprecedented world rises in vitality costs.
Grant Shapps mentioned Putin’s unlawful march on Ukraine had demonstrated the necessity for ever better vitality independence, powering Britain from Britain by means of ever better use of sources like renewables and nuclear.
The assembly comes at a vital second for the worldwide vitality market following Russia’s barbaric concentrating on of Ukraine’s vitality system, and the secretaries of state spoke on how the battle has reminded nations world wide that with out cheaper, greener, and safer vitality, there isn’t any path to long-term prosperity for any nation.
With a shared perception that nations needs to be sovereign, democratic and free, Grant Shapps and Jennifer Granholm mentioned they’d work collectively to undermine Putin’s potential to fund his unlawful battle by means of Russian oil and petroleum merchandise exports, and to assist their European companions of their efforts to finish reliance on Russian vitality.
The transfer to renewables and different inexperienced vitality sources, and the necessity to deal with local weather change, had been on the forefront of discussions at a devoted Inexperienced Buyers Roundtable chaired by each secretaries of states – providing alternatives for joint funding by British and American corporations.
This comes as each nations lay the foundations for a shared method to vitality, one which drives progress and brings down payments to guard companies and households from unstable oil and fuel markets.
The UK authorities can also be making large strides to create a less expensive, cleaner vitality system – one which will increase the nation’s vitality independence. This contains lately finishing the most important offshore wind farm on this planet, producing reasonably priced, renewable electrical energy for British properties and companies, in addition to taking historic steps in investing a direct stake in a nuclear mission’s improvement for the primary time since 1987 – which can create home-grown vitality of the long run.
Within the US, photo voltaic energy builders plan to put in a file 29.1 GW of utility-scale capability in 2023 alone, virtually triple the earlier yr. States like Georgia are benefiting from new jobs throughout electrical automobile and battery manufacturing, and California is eyeing new transmission networks to attach floating offshore wind to the West Coast electrical energy grid.
UK Division for Power Safety and Internet Zero Secretary of State Grant Shapps mentioned:
Secretary Granholm and I stand shoulder to shoulder in our never-ending assist for Ukraine, and in guaranteeing that neither Putin nor any tyrant ever suppose they will maintain the world to ransom by means of their vitality provide.
The battle has proven the UK, the US and nations the world over the necessity for ever better vitality independence, fueled by strikes away from fossil fuels and in the direction of dwelling grown sources like renewables and nuclear. In the present day I’m pledging to ship that vitality independence – backed by my ambition for decrease wholesale electrical energy costs in the long term.
This can even open up alternatives for UK and US corporations to work collectively on the innovative of those applied sciences whereas additionally strengthening the historic ties of cooperation between our two nations.
US Secretary of Power Jennifer M. Granholm mentioned:
The US stands alongside the UK in assist of Ukraine towards Russia’s brutal battle and its weaponization of vitality markets. We’re keenly conscious that remaining overly reliant on fossil fuels places our vitality safety in danger and that the answer lies in diversifying our gasoline sources by means of the deployment of unpolluted vitality.
The Biden-Harris Administration has put into place highly effective instruments such because the Inflation Discount Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Regulation to decrease prices and advance new vitality applied sciences, and we stay up for proceed constructing on an extended historical past of collaboration round our shared clear vitality ambitions that may ship homegrown safety and better independence.
Notes to editors
Announced by Prime Minister Johnson and President Biden on 10 June 2021, the Strategic Power Dialogue is the first bilateral discussion board to reinforce and increase cooperation in assist of US and UK shared vitality safety and resilience targets, clear vitality and web zero ambitions, and joint management priorities in multilateral vitality boards.
The US-UK Strategic Power Dialogue is complemented by the Joint Motion Group for Power Safety and Affordability that was established by our 2 nations in December 2022 to speed up cooperation on short-term motion to assist vitality safety and affordability in the UK and throughout Europe.
Mr Shapps has made clear his ambition for the UK to have the most affordable wholesale electrical energy costs in Europe by the center of the subsequent decade, and within the quick time period, the federal government is masking round half of the standard households’ vitality payments this winter to assist households.