GB Energy will not have its own headquarters in Aberdeen, The National can reveal.
Labour’s energy “investment vehicle” will instead be based in a building which is shared with oil companies.
It is unclear how much space is available for GB Energy given the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) already occupies space in the building.
A DESNZ spokesperson also declined to say how many GB Energy staff it was planning on hiring, instead saying: “The exact number of roles in Great British Energy will be driven by the organisational structures and priorities.”
The AB1 building on Huntly Street where DESNZ is based is made up of three floors of office space, with the websites of local estate agents confirming other occupants include Shell and Dana Petroleum, both of which extract oil and gas from the North Sea.
A DESNZ spokesperson added: “We are ramping up recruitment into initial key roles across Great British Energy’s board.
“Workforce planning activity is under way to ensure we have the right skills, across the right locations, to ensure Great British Energy delivers maximum impact and accelerates billions in investment in renewable energy projects.”
We previously reported that the new boss of GB Energy, Juergen Maier, will not take up an office in Aberdeen but will instead be based in a government building in Salford, Greater Manchester.
The MSP added: “But what we have still to do is open the headquarters, which we have committed in Aberdeen, and the staff will be working from Aberdeen to deliver the outcomes from GB Energy.”
This week also saw Labour MPs vote against an amendment to the GB Energy Bill which would make reducing household energy bills by £300 a priority.
Scottish Labour did not respond to a request for comment.
‘How they plan on playing a meaningful part in a just transition is beyond me’
The SNP’s MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Jackie Dunbar, has slammed the decision to base GB Energy in a shared building with the DESNZ, arguing it poses questions about “what GB Energy is actually going to do”.
Dunbar told The National: “When Labour said that GB Energy will be headquartered in Aberdeen, few took that to mean it would be based in an existing civil service office block.
“This poses yet more questions about what GB Energy is actually going to do and whether it will truly be based in the north east.
“How they plan to play a meaningful part in a just transition and the future of Scotland’s energy resources – and oil and gas workers – from a couple of spare offices in an existing government building is beyond me.”
Dunbar argued the move “shows a total lack of seriousness and carelessness towards Scotland’s just transition”.
She added: “The more we know about GB Energy the clearer it becomes that Scotland’s resources will only be safe in Scotland’s hands."
Meanwhile, Alba Party general secretary Chris McEleny (below) called GB Energy a “Westminster con” which was “trying to hoodwink people into thinking Labour have a bright plan for Scotland”.
“In reality they are embarking on the run down and sabotage of jobs in the North Sea,” he told The National.
McEleny continued: “Labour said GB Energy would create jobs and reduce bills but they refuse to say how many jobs Scotland will get and by how our bills will drop. “Scotland is an energy rich country but our people are living in fuel poverty.
“It is absurd and no amount of smoke and mirror tricks by the Labour Party will convince people otherwise.”
