Tackling the climate crisis

Generating clean power for future cities

In the next 10 years we will transform our cities in response to the challenges and risks of climate change. At Legal & General we have an integral role to play in helping our cities and communities adapt to these changing dynamics. Our focus is to invest in an energy system that can sustainably accommodate the needs of our society

24 Feb 2020

Meet our experts

John Bromley

John Bromley

Managing Director, Clean Energy Strategy & Investments

Legal & General Capital

Increasing investment in renewable energy

We have invested in three offshore wind farms off the coast of the UK with the capacity to provide power for millions of homes. This includes £370 million in the Hornsea Project One, located off the Yorkshire coast, in the North Sea. Once completed it will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm with 174 turbines. We’ve also invested in the Walney Extension, which is in the Irish Sea off the coast of Cumbria, and the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm off the east coast of England.

2,000,000

Homes could be powered by the three offshore wind farms we have invested in.

Supporting renewable energy funds

We have been a cornerstone investor in renewable energy funds run by Irish sustainable infrastructure firm NTR. The funds aim to use institutional finance such as pension funds to construct and operate renewable power plants in the UK and across Europe. Our capital is delivering new and additional clean energy capacity that will both benefit the environment and provide income for pension savers.

£1 billion

We’ve invested more than £1 billion in renewable energy infrastructure so far, from wind farms to solar energy and electric vehicle charging points.

John Bromley

Head of Clean Energy, Legal & General Future Cities business

We must break our reliance on fossil fuels, with all their associated impact on our environment and also our health.

John Bromley

Head of Clean Energy, Legal & General Future Cities business

We’re working with Oxford PV to commercialise a new generation of super-efficient solar panels. In addition we are providing finance for rooftop solar schemes. We have, for example, helped to fund the installation of photovoltaic cells on the roofs of 9,000 homes across England and Wales.

200 x

More effective at absorbing the sun's energy, Oxford PV’s perovskite technology is revolutionising solar power.

Our technology should make it feasible to produce cheaper electricity on every rooftop in a city.

Professor Henry Snaith

Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, Oxford PV

Developing fusion technology

We have invested in Tokamak Energy, an Oxfordshire-based company that is aiming to bring fusion energy to the market by 2030. Fusion – the energy source that powers the sun – could produce clean energy here on Earth. Tokamak is developing a compact fusion device that could be safely deployed close to cities with large demand for energy. The company grew out of Culham Laboratory in Oxfordshire, the world’s leading centre for magnetic fusion energy research.

2030

Could see the first demonstration fusion-generated electricity delivered into the National Grid by Tokamak Energy.

John Bromley

Head of Clean Energy, Legal & General Future Cities business

We need to adapt, repurpose and rethink our energy system, putting it at the heart of our sustainable cities.

John Bromley

Head of Clean Energy, Legal & General Future Cities business

Charging electric vehicles

We believe that electric vehicles will play an integral part in creating a clean environment and transforming the UK’s transport system. The second half of 2019 saw a huge increase in the sale of electric vehicles in the UK and we expect this trend to continue through 2020. Estimates suggest there could be 11 million electric vehicles by 2030 and 36 million by 2040. Because the availability of charging points to support this growth will be critical, in 2019 we provided capital to support Pod Point, one of the country’s leading charging point operators. They will deliver more charging infrastructure across the UK.

3,000+

Public charging points have been installed by Pod Point at places like Tesco, Lidl and Chester Zoo.