Great British Energy (GBE), the UK’s new publicly owned energy company, has published its first Strategic Plan, setting out a five-year programme to accelerate renewable power deployment and reshape the nation’s energy system. For the global community of hydropower engineers, the plan contains a clear signal: long-duration electricity storage (LDES), including pumped hydro energy storage (PHES), will be indispensable to meeting the country’s clean-power ambitions.
The plan details how GBE will deliver at least 15GW of clean generation and storage by 2030, mobilise £15 billion of private finance, and build an income-generating portfolio whose returns will be reinvested into new capacity. It also sets the stage for more than 10,000 jobs linked to clean-energy industries and support for over 1,000 community energy projects, expanding public participation in the energy transition.
Speaking on publication of the strategy, GBE CEO Dan McGrail said: “We are proud to be putting public ownership to work, unlocking investment, powering communities, creating jobs, and building an energy system that delivers for the UK.
“This Strategic Plan marks a major milestone in our mission to accelerate clean energy and the industries that support it.”
GBE Chair Juergen Maier emphasised the stakes for public benefit, saying: “This plan puts the UK public at the heart of our energy future. By investing in clean power, supporting local projects, and unlocking British industry, Great British Energy will help deliver an energy system that works for everyone.”
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband added: “We set up Great British Energy to be a national champion that allows us to reap the benefits of Britain’s natural resources.
“This plan shows what a publicly-owned energy company will deliver: an abundance of clean, homegrown energy for British people and thousands of good jobs across the country.”
Behind these political statements lies a technical message that will resonate strongly with engineers: the UK cannot reach its clean-power goals without a massive scale-up of long-duration storage. According to the Strategic Plan, system-operator modelling shows Britain will need 7–10GW of LDES by 2035, compared to around 2.7GW today, capacity largely provided by existing pumped storage schemes. Demand for short-duration batteries is also expected to triple, but the plan makes clear that only LDES can provide the multi-hour to multi-day flexibility required to manage periods of low wind and low solar generation.
GBE notes that while the UK’s new LDES “cap and floor” mechanism is designed to unlock projects such as new PHES, it will not alone overcome the high upfront capital costs, long construction times, and revenue uncertainty that have slowed progress. To address this, the company signals it will take a direct role as developer and equity investor, absorbing early-stage risk, anchoring project finance, and helping projects reach bankability. GBE frames this as a “public ownership with purpose” model, using public capital to crowd in private investment while retaining long-term value for consumers.
The plan also underscores the relationship between storage and the UK’s projected surge in renewable generation. Without intervention, onshore solar and wind could fall 6–15GW short of the levels required by 2035, and offshore wind – expected to reach as much as 86GW by the same year – could face a shortfall of up to 38GW. Deep-water and floating offshore wind, in particular, are expected to increase the system’s reliance on multi-day storage, heightening the importance of pumped hydro and other LDES technologies.
To support this build-out, GBE is also launching a £1 billion “Energy – Engineered in the UK” programme to strengthen domestic supply chains, including engineering capability relevant to pumped storage civil works, grid infrastructure, and major mechanical systems. The scheme is expected to help deliver the country’s industrial strategy while creating thousands of skilled jobs in regions transitioning from oil and gas.
Although the plan spans only the first five years of operation, GBE makes clear that long-duration storage will remain central as the UK’s electricity demand grows and renewables become its dominant power source.
