But experts largely argued that there was little real substance to the ads, since most of the money had already been allocated in the past.
In the press release that accompanied the event, the Government made many promises. But many were just repackaged versions of old ads.
What follows is a brief, and very high level, look at the announcements. There are likely more details buried in the documents that are not mentioned here.
– Carbon capture
The government promised a “world leading commitment to carbon capture use and storage.” He announced eight projects. He did not announce any new funding for carbon capture beyond the £20bn he had already set, all but £1bn of which won’t arrive until the next parliament when this Government could be out of power anyway.
– Nuclear
The government already announced the establishment of Great British Nuclear last November, a body intended to support the industry. On Thursday he announced the names of the two experts who will lead the body and said it will be based in the Greater Manchester area. It did not appear to reveal any new funding for the agency.
– Hydrogen
The government published a list of 20 hydrogen projects that it plans to support. This is new information. The projects could end up being part of the £240m Net Zero Hydrogen fund, which had already been announced.
– Renewable
The government opened the tender for the annual renewable energy auction that takes place in the summer. This is not new, as it happens every year.
It also said Grant Shapps “is launching the Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Scheme, providing up to £160m to boost investment in port infrastructure projects.” This money and the project appear to have been first announced in November 2021.
– Insulation
The Government has renamed the Energy Company Obligation Plus (ECO+) scheme the ‘Greater British Insulation Scheme’. He doesn’t appear to have announced any new money for the scheme, but has revealed some of the details of how it will work.
– Heating
The Government said a new £30m Heat Pump Investment Accelerator would help attract private investment. The accelerator and money had already been announced a year ago.
The government said it would extend the Boiler Retrofit Scheme until 2028. This is new information and offers a grant of up to £5,000 for anyone buying a heat pump for a few more years.
– Bills
The Government plans to “rebalance the costs of gas and electricity.” Right now many charges not related to the electricity supply are added to the electricity bill, but not to the gas bill.
Experts have been calling for this to end for some time. Shapps announced that he plans to trade this last weekend.
– Work license
Right now, it takes years to get planning approval for a new wind farm or other renewable project. The government said it plans to “accelerate planning approvals” for energy infrastructure. He had already hinted at this in the past.
– Transport
The Government announced that it would invest £381 million in a Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund. This appears to be money that had not been previously announced for this purpose.
– Private investment
The government has promised to update its Green Finance Strategy which it claims will “mobilize the billions of private investment needed for net zero and nature recovery.”
– Exports
The government said it would allow UK Export Finance, a government-backed body, an additional £10bn of capacity to help encourage organic exports from the UK. This ability is not the same as investing government money.