Prime Minister Kier Starmer has appointed ex-Siemens UK head Juergen Maier as Great British Energy’s start-up chair.
Maier left his role as chief executive of Siemens UK in December 2019 after a 33 career at the company.
He has since held several non-executive and chair positions at various companies and organisations, including non-executive director of Innovo, a global construction and real estate business and chair of the board of Digital Catapult.
Maier said it was an honour to be able to lead UK’s first independently run, publicly owned electricity company.
He said: “The opportunity is huge, creating lots more cheaper renewable energy, doing it faster and creating many jobs in this exciting sector.
“We will work in partnership with the private sector and the Crown Estate to achieve just that.
“Work starts today to speed up the pace at which we decarbonise.”
He also said he was excited to lead the company and work with the private sector and communities to rapidly expand skilled jobs and investment across the country.
Earlier today the UK Government unveiled more plans regarding GB Energy, including its partnership with the Crown Estate.
Frank Gordon, Director of Policy at the REA (Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology), said: “We are encouraged to see the Government pushing ahead with the establishment of GB Energy.
“The new partnership with the Crown Estate signals intent to get building as quickly as possible and will help in establishing new offshore wind generation capacity.
“Delivery of an energy system that lowers bills for UK households and businesses requires delivering investment in the UK’s supporting energy infrastructure, like our dated power grid, and derisking innovative technologies of strategic importance, like hydrogen, marine technologies and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage.
“Doing so will enable private finance to enter the UK market faster, lowering the cost of the overall energy transition and delivering real returns for UK consumers.”