The head of Britain’s largest energy supplier has warned that the UK risks being “left behind” if it fails to collaborate with China on renewable technology, suggesting that importing Chinese wind farm innovations could create thousands of jobs.

Greg Jackson, founder and chief executive of Octopus Energy, recently accompanied Sir Keir Starmer on a UK delegation to China. He emphasised China’s significant advancements in technology and renewables, which he believes could provide Britain with crucial energy security.

This push for closer ties follows Octopus Energy’s recent joint venture with Chinese firm PCG Power, marking its first expansion into China.

The agreement will enable Octopus to trade renewable energy within the world’s largest clean energy market.

Furthermore, Octopus has previously indicated its desire to deploy wind turbines from leading Chinese manufacturers across its UK projects, utilising the country’s renewable technology to enhance Britain’s capabilities.

However, these potential collaborations are set against a backdrop of ongoing national security concerns regarding China, following a period of strained relations between the two nations.

Mr Jackson told the Press Association: “However you feel about China, it’s the second-largest economy in the world.

“In many areas it’s setting the global pace because of its investment in research and development, and technology.

“There are many people concerned about China’s motives or the way in which it’s run, but … if you don’t look at how to work with them, then you’ll get left behind.”

He added that working with China and gaining access to its technology was a “golden opportunity” that has the potential to bring down energy bills, create jobs and help boost the UK economy.

He told PA: “We need to be prepared to defend our own sovereignty and ensure our own security while working and trading with countries who can make people in Britain better off.

“There’s this obsession with whether or not we’re helping their economy, but the reality is we need to help our own economy.”

In September last year, Octopus struck a deal to co-operate on wind farm projects with Ming Yang Smart Energy Group in China, which could pave the way for UK firms to bring Chinese turbine machinery into Britain for the first time.

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Mr Jackson said the firm is hoping to start bringing the turbine technology over in the next couple of years, which is said to be around 30 per cent cheaper than from Europe.

“We would hope to create thousands of jobs here to produce some of the wind turbines that the UK is planning on building,” he said.

He insisted security would be the firm’s “number one priority” in rolling out the technology, but that the UK needs to take action to reduce its reliance on imported gas and bring the cost of bills down.

“We should work intelligently and carefully with the appropriate security frameworks,” he said.

“They’re opening up to us in an appropriate way and we need to think about how we’ll work with them here.”

Octopus, which has 7.6 million customers in the UK, overtook British Gas to become the UK’s largest energy supplier earlier this year, with a market share of 24 per cent.

It also has an AI-powered platform, called Kraken Technologies, which is used by other global energy retailers to improve customer service and billing and is valued at around £6.4 billion.

The Government last month said it was investing £25 million into Kraken through the British Business Bank (BBB) ahead of the division being spun out in the next few months.

New Delhi: A new report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) suggests that setting up a pilot air corridor connecting Gurugram, Connaught Place, and Jewar International Airport could help India reduce travel time from hours to minutes. The model is seen as a high-impact solution to urban traffic congestion and could be scaled up across the country.

The report, titled Navigating the Future of Advanced Air Mobility in India, was launched by Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu Kinjarapu. He said India’s aviation sector is moving toward a “high-tech, multi-dimensional mobility ecosystem.”

One of the key highlights of the report is the use of rooftops as landing and parking sites for electric air taxis, known as eVTOLs. This approach could turn existing buildings into revenue-generating assets. As acquiring land for ground-based landing pads is costly, rooftops offer a faster and more affordable way to launch such services in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.

“The integration of Advanced Air Mobility reflects our commitment to innovation, sustainability, and world-class urban connectivity,” said Union Minister Kinjarapu. He added that the report provides a “timely and practical blueprint to realise a faster, cleaner, and more connected India.”

However, the report notes that current regulations do not permit regular commercial rooftop operations. To address this, it recommends forming a dedicated team within the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to develop safety and operational standards for these emerging technologies.

Amit Dutta, Chairman of the CII Task Force on Advanced Air Mobility, said the study helps turn the concept into reality. “By analysing a hypothetical Delhi-NCR corridor through structured modelling and regulatory scenario testing, this study moves from concept to operational assessment,” he said, adding that it addresses key regulatory, infrastructure, and airspace challenges linked to early AAM pilots.

The report also recommends initially using drones to transport cargo and medical supplies over distances of 50–100 km. It suggests regions such as GIFT City and Andhra Pradesh as testing zones, where relaxed regulations could support faster adoption. To enable this growth, CII has urged banks and government agencies to create dedicated funding mechanisms for air mobility infrastructure. 

New Delhi: When buying a home, most people focus on price, location, and loan eligibility. But one important protection that often goes unnoticed is mandatory insurance under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA). This insurance is meant to protect homebuyers from future risks related to property ownership and construction quality.

Under Section 16 of the RERA Act, builders are required to obtain insurance for the land title and the construction of the real-estate project. The developer must pay the insurance premium and transfer the insurance benefits to the buyer or the apartment owners’ association once the project is handed over.

This insurance becomes especially important if problems arise after possession — such as structural defects, construction damage, or legal disputes over property ownership. In such cases, the insurance coverage can help cover repair costs or financial losses.

If a builder fails to obtain or transfer this insurance, the risk shifts to homeowners. In recent cases handled by state RERA authorities, builders were directed to bear repair expenses themselves when mandatory insurance was missing, highlighting the importance of verifying insurance documents before taking possession of a property.

The broader goal of RERA is to bring transparency, accountability, and protection for homebuyers in the real-estate sector, which historically faced issues such as unclear property titles, project delays, and construction defects.

What buyers should check

Before accepting possession of a property, homebuyers should:

Confirm the project is RERA-registered

Ask for insurance documents related to title and construction

Verify handover paperwork and builder compliance

These checks can help prevent financial and legal problems later.

In simple terms:

Mandatory RERA insurance acts like a safety net for homebuyers, ensuring that if something goes wrong with the property after possession, there is financial protection in place.