Today Invest Newcastle will host the launch at MIPIM of the Rolton white paper Powering the 2035 industrial and data-driven revolution focused on delivering sustainable energy and infrastructure for the UK.
As demand for energy-intensive sectors—such as data centres, advanced manufacturing hubs, and large-scale urban developments—continues to grow, the way we generate, distribute, and manage power must evolve to keep pace.
This presentation today on the Invest Newcastle Pavilion on Rolton’s white paper will be followed by an expert-led panel discussion delving into the critical challenges and opportunities in building a resilient, low-carbon energy infrastructure capable of meeting the needs of tomorrow’s industries.
The white paper draws on “Invest 2035” the UK government’s vision for a modern industrial strategy and focuses on the sectors that offer the highest growth opportunity for the economy and business. Our paper is based on a consultation and roundtables with key stakeholders in energy and real estate, it recognises the role our energy and infrastructure will play in powering growth, and highlights what needs to be done to break down the barriers to investment.
Overcoming the barriers requires bold plans, involving the private and public sector, at a regional and UK level. It requires funding, a focus on R&D and technology adoption, joined-up planning strategies, the development of clusters and the right skills in the sector. It requires proactive approach, such as creating ‘shovel-ready’ sites and streamlining processes for major projects and making the allocation of funding quicker.
What can real estate do?
For too long, the world of energy and infrastructure has been leading the conversation on macro energy strategy, with real estate dealing with the consequences.
Historically, real estate largely ignored energy and running costs because it was not significant enough to be of concern – they asked about the rent and the length of the lease. Today, energy is a big part of the conversation, and tenants are as concerned about energy costs as they are about rent and other building costs.
The paper calls for the real estate world to get involved. Peter Rolton, Chairman, Rolton, said:
“These worlds of energy, infrastructure and real estate must come together to create an environment where there are productive conversations about the investment required. There is opportunity to bring generation into our real estate portfolios, take responsibility for our own power and support
the development of decentralised infrastructure. Energy strategy needs to be part of the conversation at the early stages with real estate as part of the solution.”
