The monarch already gives up more than £312 million in revenue a year from the estate to the Treasury to boost public finances….reports Asian Lite News
King Charles has asked for the profits from a £1 billion wind farm deal to go towards “wider public good” – not the Royal Family.
After the Crown Estate announced six new offshore wind energy leases, the 74-year-old sovereign has announced he does not wish his family to benefit from the money.
In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “In view of the offshore energy windfall, the keeper of the privy purse has written to the prime minister and chancellor to share the King’s wish that this windfall be directed for wider public good, rather than to the Sovereign Grant, through an appropriate reduction in the proportion of Crown Estate surplus that funds the Sovereign Grant.”
The monarch already gives up more than £312 million in revenue a year from the estate to the Treasury to boost public finances.
Gus Jaspert, managing director of the Crown Estate, said: “Today marks a significant milestone for the UK on the road to net zero, unlocking green energy potential for more than seven million homes and demonstrating to the world that the UK offshore wind industry is growing at pace to help meet the climate challenge.”
The move comes a month after the king spoke out on the “great anxiety and hardship” facing British people amid the cost of living crisis during his first Christmas speech.
He said: “I particularly want to pay tribute to all those wonderfully kind people who so generously give food or donations, or that most precious commodity of all, their time, to support those around them in greatest need.”
Sir Michael Stevens, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, has written to the prime minister and chancellor to propose an “appropriate reduction”.
Three of the new offshore wind farm locations are off the North Wales, Cumbria and Lancashire coast, and three are in the North Sea off the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire coast. Once developed, the ambition is for them to generate enough electricity for seven million homes.
This will add to the existing 36 operational offshore wind farms on Crown Estate sites off the coasts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Dan Labbad, chief executive of the Crown Estate, hailed the benefits of this “next generation of projects”.
“They demonstrate the far-reaching value that our world-class offshore wind sector can deliver for the nation – homegrown energy for all, jobs and investment for communities, revenue for the taxpayer, clean energy for the benefit of the environment, and a considerate, sustainable approach which respects our rich biodiversity,” he said.
