Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced Aberdeen as the headquarters for Great British Energy drawing on the city’s engineering expertise to “kickstart a UK-wide clean energy revolution”.
Edinburgh and Glasgow will host two smaller sites, maximising skills and expertise across Scotland.
Announcing the location in his first speech to the Labour Party Conference as Prime Minister, Starmer (pictured) said: “We said GB Energy, our publicly owned national champion, the vehicle that will drive forward our mission on clean energy, belonged in Scotland.
“And it does.
“But the truth is, it could only really 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.
“This is how the work of change happens.”
As the location of the new headquarters, Aberdeen will be at the heart of the company’s plans to scale up renewables to boost energy independence, create skilled jobs across the UK and to support economic growth.
The company will be initially located in government buildings across the cities, while permanent bases are established.
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.
Within the first weeks of the new government, Labour took action to introduce the Great British Energy Bill to Parliament.
Together with Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, the Prime Minister confirmed a new partnership with the Crown Estate, to help accelerate new offshore wind farms.
GB Energy will attract private investment in the UK’s clean homegrown power, backed by £8.3bn in government funding over this Parliament.