ScottishPower has today unveiled a sweeping new investment plan for 2019, committing £2bn to a raft of clean technology projects including wind farm developments, electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure, and energy storage installations.

The energy giant said the strategy represents "its biggest ever investment in the UK in a single year", adding that it will support 300 new jobs and further bolster its position as a 100 per cent clean energy operator following the sale of its thermal generation business last year.

"Our first investment plan since leaving coal and gas behind is a historic milestone for ScottishPower and is a vote of confidence in the UK's commitment to decarbonising the economy," ScottishPower CEO, Keith Anderson. "In a time of uncertainty the UK needs to deliver its Industrial and Energy strategy and that's what we're providing with our biggest ever investment in a single year."

He added that the strategy came in response to growing demand from consumers for "reliable, clean and affordable energy".

"That is what ScottishPower is focused on delivering and as long as government climate change commitments stay firm, with sensible policies to support them, this investment will continue," he said.

Anderson said the strategy aimed to move beyond simply adding further renewables capacity and would also help deliver "the transition to electrify the economy where it matters most now - in transport and in heating".

The £2bn commitment forms part of longer term plan to invest £6bn between 2018 and 2022 with 40 per cent earmarked for renewable energy generation projects, 42 per cent pledged for smarter enhanced networks, and 15 per cent going towards a range of new services and products for customers, including a number of EV-related offers.

Specifically, the company said it is working on a new public electric charging service within the company's Retail division. The new business is set to install fast chargers across the UK at strategic commercial locations from winter 2019.

In addition, it today announced plans for a 50MW battery storage project at the Whitelee onshore wind farm. "The large-scale battery project will be the first of a series of storage schemes, mainly located at wind farms and at strategic points on the network," the company said. "ScottishPower believes the combination of renewable energy and flexible storage are the most cost effective low carbon solution for consumers." 

The utility also confirmed it plans to continue to invest in new onshore and offshore wind farm projects.

Construction is on-going at the £2.5bn East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm off the Suffolk coast, while ScottishPower has also secured planning consent for the East Anglia THREE wind farm and planning consultations on the company's next two large offshore wind farms in the East Anglia zone have begun.

"If consents are granted, it is anticipated that East Anglia TWO will commence construction in 2024 and East Anglia ONE North will commence construction in 2025," it said.

At the same time the firm today confirmed it is continuing to work on plans to develop a 1GW pipeline of onshore wind projects by 2025.

The onshore wind sector has seen development stall in recent years following the government's controversial decision to block onshore wind projects from competing for price support contracts. However, developers are continuing to call for a policy rethink, while there are also hopes that falling onshore wind costs could allow some projects to be developed without government-backed contracts.

"Onshore wind remains the lowest cost technology for new electricity generation in the UK and ScottishPower sees substantial opportunities for the continued development of onshore wind projects across Scotland and other areas of the UK," the company said.

Meanwhile, investments in smart grid technologies are also set to continue as part of the new plan, with a major focus on artificial intelligence systems that can control and balance the network in areas with high penetration of low carbon technologies.