A release posted on the UK government website on Tuesday revealed that Great British Energy will be headquartered in Aberdeen.

The release noted that Aberdeen will be at the heart of the company’s plans to scale up clean homegrown power to boost energy independence, create skilled jobs across the UK, and to support economic growth.

According to the release, two additional sites will open in Edinburgh and Glasgow “once Great British Energy is up and running, to benefit from local skills and expertise”. The company will be initially located in government buildings across the cities, while permanent bases are established, the release stated.

“This marks the next step to kickstart Great British Energy, as part of its mission to become a clean energy superpower,” the release said.

“An interim Chief Executive will soon to be appointed to take the lead on launching the new company and building its Aberdeen base – along with the start-up Chair Juergen Maier, former CEO of Siemens UK,” it added.

The release highlighted that within the first weeks of the new government, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband “took immediate action to introduce the Great British Energy Bill to Parliament and – along with the Prime Minister – confirm a new partnership with The Crown Estate, to help accelerate new offshore wind farms”.

“The company – owned by the British people, for the British people – will attract private investment in the UK’s clean homegrown power, backed by £8.3 billion [$11.09 billion] in government funding over this Parliament,” the release stated.

“The move forms part of the government’s plans to support clean energy in the North Sea, ensuring Aberdeen continues to thrive as Scotland’s clean energy capital,” it added.

The release also highlighted that the government “recently announced the biggest ever investment in offshore wind and continues to progress technologies like carbon capture and storage and hydrogen – as well as ensuring that oil and gas is used for decades to come as part of a fair and balanced transition away from fossil fuels”.

Great British Energy is described on the UK government’s website as a “new, publicly owned, clean energy company”. Its mission will be to drive clean energy deployment to create jobs, boost energy independence, and ensure UK taxpayers, billpayers and communities reap the benefits of clean, secure, home-grown energy, the site states.

In a release sent to Rigzone yesterday, industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), which describes itself as the leading trade body for the UK’s offshore energies industry, welcomed the announcement that Great British Energy will be located in Aberdeen.

OEUK noted in the release that the city has been Europe’s energy capital for the last fifty years and added that, with the right energy policies in place to back firms and their workers, it can continue to spearhead the UK’s homegrown energy transition. 

OEUK said in the release that listening to industry’s experts and building partnerships will be key to determining Great British Energy’s success. It highlighted that the UK’s transition to cleaner energy is “the biggest engineering project the UK has seen since the Second World War” and “the biggest financial undertaking”.

In the release, OEUK CEO David Whitehouse said, “Aberdeen is an energy powerhouse and home to brilliant British engineering – it must and should be part of the UK’s energy future”.

“The people of this city are rightly proud of their energy heritage and it’s imperative GB Energy helps to safeguard their jobs and build on their world class expertise to benefit the whole UK,” he added.  

“Where GB Energy is located is important but what really matters is what it does. Success will be built on partnerships with industry unlocking the private sector investment needed to achieve the homegrown energy transition and economic growth we all want,” he continued.

“This means listening to expert people across our sector, backing our supply chains and safeguarding the jobs of thousands of skilled workers across the UK,” he went on to state.

 Whitehouse highlighted in the release that he “remain[s] concerned the new government’s tax changes will have profound consequences for this sector and its people”.

“The new government committed to safeguarding jobs in its manifesto and must listen to those working in the sector … [This] announcement is welcomed, but it will do little to alleviate the very real concerns of the impact the government’s tax proposals will have on thousands of jobs and billions of pounds in future economic value,” he warned.

“I am asking the government to choose a homegrown energy transition that makes the most of our people and businesses. The alternative is importing ever more energy, skills and infrastructure and subtracting value from our economy,” Whitehouse went on to state.

Rigzone has contacted the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and HM Treasury for comment on OEUK’s release. A DESZN spokesperson responded by referring Rigzone to the release posted on the UK government website.

HM Treasury has not yet responded to Rigzone’s request at the time of writing.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com