- UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has appointed Miatta Fahnbulleh as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.
- Fahnbulleh will oversee the expansion of the UK’s clean energy programme, including the latest Contracts for Difference auction.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has unveiled his first Cabinet following his appointment as Prime Minister. He named Miatta Fahnbulleh as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. This places her in charge of the UK’s clean energy agenda. She will lead efforts to sustain momentum in renewable energy deployment and electricity market reform.
Burnham assumed office on Monday, July 20 after Keir Starmer resigned earlier this month. King Charles III invited him to form a government after his election as Labour Party leader.
Fahnbulleh succeeds Ed Miliband, who oversaw a major expansion of Britain’s offshore wind sector during his tenure. Under Miliband’s leadership, the government secured more than 13GW of offshore wind capacity across two Contracts for Difference (CfD) allocation rounds. It also launched a £1 billion supply-chain initiative to strengthen the domestic clean energy industry and support future renewable energy projects.
Although Miliband had been linked with the role of chancellor of the exchequer, Burnham instead appointed him foreign secretary. Stakeholders had reportedly expressed concerns about the possibility of Miliband leading the Treasury because of the fiscal implications of the government’s clean energy agenda.
Burnham also appointed John Healey as chancellor of the exchequer, replacing Rachel Reeves. Healey resigned as defence secretary in June after disagreeing with Starmer’s defence spending plans. His appointment marks one of the most notable changes in the new Cabinet.
Fahnbulleh entered Parliament in 2024 and has already held ministerial roles in government. She served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at both the Ministry of Housing and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. During her time at the Energy Department, she focused on consumer protection, household energy costs and electricity pricing. She also worked on policies aimed at making the electricity market more affordable for consumers.
Fahnbulleh will oversee the next phase of the UK’s clean energy transition. She will play a central role in expanding offshore wind capacity, delivering electricity market reforms and supporting the government’s long-term decarbonisation objectives.
Her appointment coincides with the launch of the eighth Contracts for Difference Allocation Round (AR8). The government expects more than 17GW of renewable energy capacity to compete for long-term contracts under the latest auction. The CfD mechanism remains the UK’s primary policy for encouraging investment in low-carbon electricity generation by providing developers with long-term price certainty.
The new auction follows the record-setting AR7 round, which concluded in January. That round awarded contracts to 8.4GW of renewable energy projects. This makes it the largest offshore wind procurement round in the country’s history. The outcome reinforced the UK’s position as one of the world’s leading offshore wind markets and established a strong pipeline for future renewable electricity generation.