On Thursday, 17 October, Juergen Maier, the Chair of Great British Energy (GBE) attended a meeting in Aberdeen to meet with key public and private sector representatives interested in clean energy. The meeting took place following last month’s announcement that GBE will be headquartered in Aberdeen, a move that strengthens the region’s status as the global energy capital.
Cllr Alan Turner, Aberdeenshire Council’s Chair of Infrastructure Services Committee, said “The North East of Scotland became an established energy world leader because of the expertise and specialisms developed here, and we are confident that Great British Energy headquartering in the region sends the same message, that we are all focusing on the energy transition and the future. We were delighted to meet with the Chair of GBE and begin those important discussions about how we work together to make the most of this opportunity to maximise local businesses in order to accelerate the energy transition, safeguarding jobs and creating new opportunities.”
Co Leader of Aberdeen City Council, Cllr Christian Allard, commented: “Aberdeen has been a magnet for energy investments for decades and the city has already established itself as a renewables hub. The welcome addition of Great British Energy here will help secure future investments in the sector and will help confirm Aberdeen as the Net Zero Capital of Europe. Today’s introduction to the GBE team was welcomed by ourselves and all of our regional stakeholders, and we appreciated the opportunity to familiarise them with some of our key energy assets. We very much look forward to building on this relationship.”
Prior to the meeting Mr Maier and his team embarked on a tour around Aberdeen, visiting key energy sites highlighting the wider offering available in the North East.
Last week Mr Maier appeared before MPs at Westminster and confirmed Aberdeen will be the centre of Great British Energy’s operations, with a significant proportion of its staff employed there, including the permanent CEO and most of the senior executive team.
As the location of the new headquarters, 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 backed by £8.3 billion in government funding. Initially Great British Energy will be located in government buildings before permanent bases are set up.
This meeting follows on from the news that Aberdeen has been confirmed for the strategic and operational headquarters for £2.5 billion Green Volt floating windfarm project. Up to 40 direct jobs are to be based at the headquarters of Green Volt, which is expected to trigger around £2.5billion of investment and 2,800 jobs in construction. The business is a joint venture between Edinburgh's Flotation Energy and Vårgrønn of Norway.
