Keir Starmer has officially announced that GB Energy will be headquartered in Aberdeen. The Prime Minister said in his speech at the Labour Party Conference that the publicly-owned energy company will have its base in the north-east.
Two additional sites will open in Edinburgh and Glasgow, once Great British Energy is up and running. The company will be initially located in government buildings across the cities, while permanent bases are established.
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 today 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.”
It had previously been reported that the firm would be based in Aberdeen but it was only confirmed today.
The company will not supply power to households but will help fund existing and new clean technology. It will also help fund small and medium sized renewable energy projects.
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.
Climate campaigners have said the location of the HQ “is an opportunity to keep the benefits of the energy transition in the North East.”
Labour had said that GB Energy would be headquartered in Scotland when it announced its plans to create the company before it came to power.
The creation of the firm was one of the party’s key election pledges. But its exact location had not been revealed and it was not included in the King’s Speech in July.
Aberdeen is home to much of the UK’s oil and gas industries. Labour had promised before the election that GB Energy would bring thousands of jobs to Scotland.
The SNP holds both Granite City seats, with Westminster leader Stephen Flynn representing Aberdeen South and Kirsty Blackman MP for Aberdeen North.
The Labour Government has said it will not issue any new oil and gas licences but will not revoke any which have already been given out.
The speech was Starmer’s first at a Labour Party Conference since becoming Prime Minister in July. The event was taking place in Liverpool.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “Good for workers, good for consumers, good for growth and good for Scotland.”
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, clickhere