Aberdeen has finally been confirmed as the headquarters for GB Energy as Prime Minister Keir Starmer paid tribute to the “talents and skills of the working people of the Granite City”.
The Labour Party leader announced the location on Thursday afternoon, weeks after it was widely reported the publicly-owned energy company will be “anchored” in the north-east.
At Labour party conference in Liverpool, Sir Keir said: “We said it belonged in Scotland, and it does.
“The truth is it could only really ever be based in one place in Scotland.
“So today I can confirm that the future of British energy will be powered as it has been for decades by the talent and skills of the working people in the Granite City, with GB Energy based in Aberdeen.”
It will start off in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s HQ on Aberdeen’s Huntly Street, while the search for a permanent base gets under way.
The Press and Journal revealed earlier this month that potential locations are already being scouted out, including space at Marischal Square and potentially Aberdeen city council’s own Marischal College base on Broad Street.
Two smaller sites will eventually open in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
GB Energy will own, manage and operate clean power projects up and down the country, backed by £8.3 billion over the new parliament.
‘Fantastic’
North-east business leaders have long been pushing the case for Aberdeen.
Energy tycoon Sir Ian Wood, chairman of Energy Transition Zone Limited, described the move as “hugely welcome”.
He added: “It is now essential that industry works 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 green energies.”
Russell Borthwick, chief executive of Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is fantastic news for Aberdeen and will secure the north-east’s status as a global energy capital for many decades to come.”
But he warned the Labour government to use next month’s budget to “restore confidence in the North Sea” as Chancellor Rachel Reeves prepares to increase the windfall tax on oil and gas profits.
Jean Morrison, chair of Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group, said the decision will “help secure much needed investment in the sector”.
An interim chief executive will be appointed soon to launch the company with start-up chairman Juergen Maier, the former chief executive of Siemens UK.
Mr Maier said: “We will use this base to rapidly scale up this publicly owned, operationally independent company and start to engage with investors and communities and build supply chains across the UK.”
Aberdeen businessman Iain Anderson, who recently completed a business review on behalf of Labour, said it’s a “massive boost” for the city.
It is seen as an obvious choice for the headquarters, given the expertise in the city and proximity to many of Scotland’s offshore wind projects.
But there are questions around what the new energy body will actually do and how many jobs it will deliver.
Will it bring down bills?
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, the MP for Aberdeen South, said the prime minister must explain how the firm will bring down energy bills as promised.
“After all, the legislation itself is barely four pages long, offers no insight into how the body will be structured nor what its strategic aims will be, and doesn’t even begin to outline how energy bills will reduce as promised,” he said.
Andrew Bowie, Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, was also sceptical about the impact of the new publicly-owned energy firm.
He said: “Having GB Energy in Aberdeen will in no way make up for the thousands of jobs that’ll be lost in the North Sea as a result of Labour’s dreadful policies on oil and gas”.
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