GB Energy announcement welcomed as Starmer urged to ‘accelerate’ action

The announcement of GB Energy being based in Aberdeen has been welcomed, as ministers were urged to “accelerate” the creation of the agency.

Sir Keir Starmer used his first conference speech as Prime Minister to announce the news, ending months of speculation and drawing praise.

But the Scottish Government urged its Westminster counterpart to increase the pace of the set-up of the agency.

Addressing delegates in Liverpool on Tuesday, Sir Keir said: “We said, GB Energy, our publicly-owned national champion, the vehicle that 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.”

Responding to the news, Scotland’s acting Energy Secretary Gillian Martin welcomed the announcement, adding: “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,” she said.

“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.”

In a statement, Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said the company will be headquartered in Aberdeen “with offices next to the financial sectors in Glasgow and Edinburgh”.

“Labour’s manifesto promised real change for Scotland and today’s news is an important first step in making that promise a reality,” he said.

“Scotland has led an energy revolution before and GB Energy will now help us lead the country into a green energy future.”

Also speaking after the speech, GB Energy chair Juergen Maier CBE, said the headquarters will act as a “starting point” for the newly-formed firm.

“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,” he added.

Within minutes, the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, which had been campaigning for the agency to come to the region, hailed the “fantastic news” which it said will “secure the north-east’s status as a global energy capital for many decades to come”.

Its chief executive Russell Borthwick added: “However, we do not need to kill off one industry to grow another – in fact, the opposite is true, as one cannot exist without the other.

“We therefore urge the UK Government to use next month’s Budget to restore confidence in the North Sea to protect the jobs, supply chain and energy production we need to ensure a just transition.”

Stuart Payne – the chief executive of the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) – said he was “absolutely delighted” with the news, adding: “The city was at the absolute heart of the UK’s energy story for the last 60 years, and can do the same for the next 60 – the energy transition will be accelerated and enabled by a world class workforce, a passion for tackling the hardest technical challenges, and a very warm welcome awaits our new colleagues.”

Sir Ian Wood, a well known oil and gas billionaire and the chair of Aberdeen’s Energy Transition Zone (ETZ), urged the sector to work with ministers to shape the agency.

And David Whitehouse, the chief executive of Offshore Energies UK, said it was important where the organisation was located, “but what really matters is what it does”, as he urged GB Energy to listen to “expert people across our sector, backing our supply chains and safeguarding the jobs of thousands of skilled workers across the UK”.