Who should own clean energy?

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Hi everyone,

We’re living in an age where the technology needed to decarbonise our energy systems largely exists. Solar is cheap. Wind is scaling. Batteries are better than ever. Smart grids, EV chargers, it’s all here.

But there is a much larger question that comes into play when we look at rolling out this technology: Who should own and deploy this infrastructure?

It’s a complex debate, but one we need to settle. The UK has taken a firmer stance on this recently and kick-started discussions around the future of energy infrastructure ownership.

Here is why it matters for the future of climate tech.

The rise of Great British Energy

Last week, the UK parliament passed legislation for the new publicly owned, clean energy company, Great British Energy.

Great British Energy will focus on UK-based clean energy projects, such as offshore wind and solar, to put clean energy into public ownership. It’s the first time in decades that the UK has moved back toward state involvement in energy generation. And it’s already dividing opinion.

Some argue that public ownership is essential to ensure affordable, long-term and resilient clean power. Others say private investment is doing a good job of transitioning to clean power, and that moves like this risk slowing things down due to public sector blockers.

The bigger question it’s posed is this:

Now that we have the tools to build a cleaner energy system, who do we trust to scale it? And how can we ensure they do it fairly?

Public vs private: two different missions

Private markets are incredibly good at finding opportunities and moving fast. Largely driven by the aim to realise quick potential profits. Just look at how quickly EV charging networks and home solar systems have grown in places like the Netherlands, California or Spain. When there is potential profit to be made, private investment is never far behind.

The challenge is that this results in private capital being heavily focused on where the returns are highest. That can mean:

• Slower rollouts in low-income or rural communities

• A focus on short-term ROI for stakeholders over long-term resilience

• Less accountability for who gets left behind

Public ownership flips this on its head. It often moves more slowly, but it can make decisions based on the public good, not just profit. This movement is how we got universal access to water, power, education, and healthcare in the first place.

So when we talk about ownership, we’re really talking about what we prioritise and aim for. Is the goal maximum efficiency? Or maximum access?

How this shapes the technology itself

This isn’t just a policy question. It’s one that shapes which technologies get funded, how they’re deployed, and who gets access to them.

Some examples:

• Battery storage: Private companies might build where grid congestion is profitable (like corporate offices). A public grid operator might build where reliability is needed most (like neighbourhoods).

• Heat pumps: Public schemes can subsidise access and build installer networks. Left to the market, rollout might stall in lower-income homes.

• Smart energy systems: Public utilities could deploy open standards and shared platforms. Private players might build siloed, branded ecosystems.

And funding matters too. Government-led banks or state-owned utilities can help to de-risk early-stage innovation, rather than wait for “VC-friendly” tech to mature.

This is especially important in areas like geothermal, tidal, or long-duration storage. Areas that could be critical to net zero, but aren’t quite “market-ready” and need more innovation.

It’s not either/or, we need both

Ultimately, the clean energy transition is too big, too fast, and too important to fall on just one model.

We need the scale and speed that the private industry brings, especially when it comes to building and commercialising tech. But we also need the long-term vision and equality of public ownership to make sure no one is left out.

Hybrid models do already exist! In France, state-owned EDF is leading both nuclear and renewables. And in Germany, citizen-owned “Bürgerenergie” cooperatives are deploying solar and wind locally.

The real challenge is designing large-scale systems that let the tech thrive, but keep the focus on people and the planet, not just profit.

We no longer need to wonder if clean tech works; we need to figure out how to get it everywhere.

That means asking questions like:
Who decides where it goes? Who owns the benefits? And what kind of system are we building?

The UK’s move to create a national clean energy company won’t solve everything, but it might help reshape the conversation. Not just about tech, but about who it’s there for.

See you next week,
James

P.S. I’d love to hear your take on whether clean energy should be owned by the public or left to the private market. Hit reply and let me know!

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