Great British Energy board to meet for first time in Scotland

The board of a publicly-owned clean energy company set up by the UK Labour Government is scheduled to meet for the first time in Scotland on Monday to discuss scaling up and kickstarting investments.

Energy minister Michael Shanks will convene the meeting of the Great British Energy start-up board in Aberdeen alongside chairman Juergen Maier and interim chief executive Dan McGrail to discuss next steps for the organisation.

It is expected the discussions will involve building up an investment portfolio which members hope will return a profit for taxpayers.

Great British Energy has already started engaging with the market on potential collaborations to ensure it can deliver benefits for the public once it is fully established, backed by £8.3 billion over the course of the current Parliament.

Mr Shanks said: “We now have a fantastic team in place to lead Great British Energy and establish the company in Aberdeen.

“By unlocking homegrown clean power projects, Great British Energy will support thousands of well-paid jobs in Scotland and across the country, and deliver energy security for the British people.

“Today’s meeting of the new board members marks another step forward for the company as it gears up to make its first investments.”

Mr Maier said: “We are working on a plan to invest in and deliver homegrown clean power, supporting the next generation of energy jobs.

“We are already engaging with industry on exciting investment opportunities so we can hit the ground running once Great British Energy is fully established.

“Together we will back British innovation and support the creation of thousands of jobs in clean energy projects and their supply chains in the North East of Scotland alone.”

Mr McGrail said: “Great British Energy is perfectly placed to take advantage of the clean energy revolution for the benefit of the British people.

“As I take up post as interim CEO today, I’m pleased to bring our new board members together in Aberdeen to discuss our plans to invest in secure, homegrown clean power – unleashing jobs and crowding in private investment.”

Mr Maier is also expected to convene a skills roundtable on Tuesday to work with industry to help oil and gas workers in north-east Scotland access clean energy jobs.

It is scheduled to be attended by organisations including Skills Development Scotland, the Scottish Trades Union Congress, Green Free Ports Cromarty and Leith, ETZ Ltd, and Aberdeen and Grampian Chambers of Commerce.