The headquarters for GB Energy will be in Aberdeen, it has been revealed.
Sources close to the government have told The Press and Journal the publicly-owned energy company will be “anchored” in the Granite City with smaller offices elsewhere in the country.
GB Energy has been designed to fund new “clean energy” to create jobs and benefit communities across the UK.
The location was always been planned to be in Scotland but it is now understood Aberdeen has been confirmed as the location.
The news has been welcomed by business leaders and politicians across the region.
However, a spokeswoman for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) dismissed the story as “pure speculation”.
She said: “We do not comment on speculation. Decisions on Great British Energy’s location will be announced in due course.”
It is understood Prime Minister Keir Starmer could officially announce the firm’s home in Aberdeen as early as next week.
GB Energy coming to Aberdeen
Many have argued the Granite City being the “epicentre of North sea oil and gas productions” makes it the obvious choice for the headquarters.
Aberdeen business leaders previously wrote an open letter to Keir Starmer, Ed Miliband and Anas Sarwar calling for GB Energy to be based in the north-east.
Reports suggest smaller offices will also be opened in other parts of Scotland, potentially Edinburgh or Glasgow.
Setting up the company was one of the new government’s first steps “for change” which aims to have an “early impact and long-term success”.
The founding statement says: “Great British Energy will be a publicly‑owned energy company, designed to drive clean energy deployment, boost energy independence, create jobs and ensure U K taxpayers, billpayers and communities reap the benefits of clean, secure, home‑grown energy.”
Aberdeen ‘makes sense’
Commenting on the news, Russell Borthwick, chief executive of Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC), said:
“Aberdeen has been Europe’s energy capital for half a century – home to energy companies large and small, a thousand supply chain firms, vast renewables potential off our shores and the highly-skilled workforce who will deliver the UK’s transition to net zero.
“AGCC has led calls for GB Energy to be headquartered here in the Granite City – which will be the epicentre of so much activity over the coming years as we move away from oil and gas to cleaner sources of energy.
“To deliver that shared mission – which must be done in partnership between government, industry, workers and the community at large – an Aberdeen HQ makes sense.
“While we await confirmation from the government, and further detail on the functions and focus of a new publicly-owned energy company, we will continue to campaign for a well-managed transition that protects jobs, delivers energy security in the here and now and guarantees a bright future for our energy industry for decades to come.”
Leading Aberdeen businessman Iain Anderson, who defected to Labour from the Tories, said: “Aberdeen is the best place to locate GB Energy – it has the skills and the agglomeration effect.
“It’s a massive vote of confidence in the city”.
‘Nobody sensible suggested anywhere other than Aberdeen’
SNP Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn MP said: “Nobody sensible was seriously suggesting that a new energy body should be based outwith Aberdeen so to have this belated certainty is helpful.
“Now we need to try and understand what this new energy body will actually do, and how it will benefit the people of Scotland given the scale of our resources.
“In that context, it’s only reasonable to expect any wealth created from Scotland’s resources to flow directly back to our communities.
“And, ultimately, it’s important to be clear that this body being in Aberdeen is no mitigation to the damage that is likely to be caused to investment and jobs in our existing energy sector by Labour’s recently implemented tax regime.
Friends of the Earth Scotland commented it matters more what GB Energy does over where it is located.
Campaigner Rosie Hampton said: “GB Energy can and must bring our energy generation back into public hands.
“Anything else risks being a continuation of the status quo with profiteering energy companies allowed to carry on with business as usual.
“The deliberate ambiguity around GB Energy means it is still hard to judge when it will be functional or whether it will be creating jobs for offshore energy workers or investment managers.”
Aberdeen is an ‘irresistible’ location
Sir Ian Wood, chairman of ETZ Ltd, also “welcomed” the reports.
He said: “The case for locating the company in the north-east of Scotland is irresistible given it is home to the largest cluster of energy supply chain companies in the UK and in close proximity to a massive pipeline of renewable projects spanning offshore wind, green hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.
“Should this extremely positive opportunity be confirmed, it is essential that industry work closely with the UK Government to design GB Energy ensuring it fulfils its stated ambition as an investment vehicle that accelerates the country’s diversification to new and green energies.
“A key part of this process must be ensuring a managed and just transition that protects our existing oil and gas sector which harbours the skills, experience and company base that is so crucial to ensuring this region continues to contribute significantly to the UK’s energy security as well as being a key driver of the race to net zero.”
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