In his conference speech, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the state-owned public energy company, Great British Energy (GB Energy) will be headquartered in Aberdeen, which is a significant development for Scotland.
Keir Starmer said: “We said GB Energy, our publicly owned national champion, the vehicle will drive forward our mission on clean energy, we said it belonged in Scotland, and it does.
“But 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.”
Two sites of the new energy company will be established in Edinburgh and Glasgow to leverage local skills and expertise once Great British Energy is operational.
Initially, the company will operate from government buildings in both cities while permanent offices are developed.
In response to the announcement, Scottish Government’s Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy Gillian Martin said: “We welcome confirmation that Aberdeen is the UK Government’s preferred location for GB Energy’s headquarters.
“Aberdeen has a long and proud history of energy innovation and an outstanding skills base, and will be at the heart of Scotland’s just transition to clean energy.
“We will now press the UK Government to make sure that this announcement brings real decision-making to Aberdeen and adds value to the great work already taking place in the energy transition.
“More widely, we are working closely with the UK Government as it establishes the GBE team and we would encourage them to accelerate the establishment of the new organisation so that investment in projects in Scotland can be taken forward without delay.”
