Highland business and civic leaders have called for GB Energy to be based in the north.
GB Energy will be a new publicly owned company focused on clean energy.
It was a key plank of Labour’s manifesto going into last week’s general election.
The new government says it will “harness the power of Britain’s sun, wind, and waves to cut energy bills and deliver energy security for our country”.
And Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to have it headquartered in Scotland.
Competition for GB Energy hots up
There is a growing campaign to bring it to Aberdeen.
But there’s now a power-packed pitch from the Highlands.
Business and civic leaders including Inverness Chamber of Commerce chief executive Colin Marr, Highland Council CEO Derek Brown, Highlands and Islands CEO Stuart Black, University of the Highlands and Islands director Alison Wilson and Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport (ICFGF) CEO Calum MacPherson have written to new Energy Secretary Ed Miliband calling for GB Energy to come north.
The Highlands and Islands are already home to one of two Scottish green freeports.
ICFGF is widely expected to transform the region into one of Europe’s leading green energy hubs, creating thousands of new jobs.
Explaining why GB Energy should be based in the region too, the letter to Mr Miliband says: “We were pleased to hear the government confirm their plans to create GB Energy and to locate the headquarters in Scotland.
“We are writing to outline why the Highlands of Scotland is the best location.
“As you will be aware, the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport is attracting significant international investment in assembly and manufacturing facilities to accelerate offshore wind power for the UK.
Growing clean energy hub
“A significant proportion of the UK’s wind power, both on and offshore, and the majority of pumped hydro storage schemes will be located in the Highlands
“Therefore, following transition, the majority of the UKs clean energy will be generated in the Highlands.”
‘Unique’ geography
The letter adds: “Our unique geography – with deep water, large sheltered ports and inland areas ideal for pumped hydro storage – makes the manufacture and installations required for the energy transition feasible only in our region; it cannot and will not happen elsewhere in the UK.
“Through ICFGF we are attracting inward investment at an astonishing rate, and anticipate £3.5 billion of energy-related investment and a further £12bn of investment in grid infrastructure over the coming years.
“While other parts of Scotland may present competing proposals, they will be primarily based on current energy generation, not on the generation of the future.
“As such, any other location is likely to find itself distanced from UK energy generation and associated manufacturing in the near to mid-future.
“Locating such a vital institution in the north of Scotland would also be a powerful statement as to how central government can benefit the whole UK in terms of spend and employment.”
Signing off the letter on behalf of all the signatories, Mr Marr has invited Mr Miliband to Inverness so he can see for himself “the scale and speed of investment in energy transition in both ICFGF and across the Highlands as a whole”.
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