GB Energy will be headquartered in Scotland but where?
The race is on north of the border to win the prize and all its benefits.
And the runners and riders jockeying for pole position include Aberdeen and Inverness.
Business and civic leaders are lining up to highlight the case for their regions to the new team running the show at Westminster.
What is GB Energy?
GB Energy will be a new publicly owned company focused on clean energy.
It was a key plank of Labour’s manifesto going into this month’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”.
There is a good case for it to be based in the north-east, thanks to the region’s many decades of expertise as a leading global energy hub.
Big hitters in north-east campaign for GB Energy to come to Aberdeen
For many people, Aberdeen’s proud history of being the epicentre of North Sea oil and gas production make the Granite City the obvious choice when it comes to GB Energy.
They can argue that no-one knows the ins and outs of energy transition better than all those north-east businesses focused on Scottish and UK-wide efforts to reach net-zero.
More than 700 north-east business leaders – including billionaire North Sea energy veteran Sir Ian Wood, Martin Gilbert and Douglas Craig – have already lined up to call for GB Energy to come to Aberdeen.
According to Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce chief executive Russell Borthwick, choosing the Granite City will “send a clear message that the city region will remain a globally recognised energy hub and the engine room for a green transition”.
More than 200 companies from across the hospitality, transport, and property sectors are backing the north-east campaign.
They say an Aberdeen-based GB Energy will benefit from invaluable local industry expertise. And they believe it will also help to protect thousands of jobs as the north-east economy transitions from its dependency on fossil fuels.
Business chiefs in Highlands make strong case for GB Energy to come north
But there is an equally strong argument for GB Energy to be based in 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.
In future, much of the UK’s wind power, both on and offshore, and the majority of pumped hydro storage schemes will be located in the Highlands.
Those campaigning for GB Energy to be based in the north also point to the region’s “unique” geography, making it an ideal location for steering the UK’s energy transition.
Having GB Energy in Inverness would be a “powerful statement” for how central government can benefit the whole UK in terms of spend and employment, they say.
There is no other part of Scotland with as strong a case as either of these two regions.”
To my mind, the competing campaigns from the north and north-east have equal merit.
I also believe there is no other part of Scotland with as strong a case as either of these two regions.
Choosing Aberdeen or Inverness would deliver a strong message about the new government’s intentions for creating economic growth and prosperity across the UK.
Conversation