GB Energy boss defends Aberdeen job creation record

The boss of Great British Energy has defended the state-owned company's job creation record after claims its impact on Aberdeen has been oversold.

Chief executive Dan McGrail said the firm was recruiting about "two people a week" for its Aberdeen-based HQ and the total would eventually rise to around 300.

GB Energy, which featured in Labour's 2024 election manifesto, was established last year to provide investment for UK clean energy projects.

McGrail said it had already made three major investments which would indirectly trigger about 1,500 jobs and it had a target of helping to create 10,000 jobs by 2030.

When Aberdeen was chosen for the headquarters of Great British Energy, the UK government said it reflected the city's long association with the oil and gas sector, as well as its growing role in offshore wind and other renewable technologies.

On Tuesday, King Charles formally opened its offices at Marischal Square on the city's Broad Street, which McGrail said signalled it was "open for business".

There has been controversy, however, over the number of jobs the firm will bring to Aberdeen after chairman Jurgen Maier initially suggested in 2024 that 1,000 might be directly employed over the next 20 years.

Last year, McGrail who by then had been appointed chief executive, clarified that his plan was to recruit about 300 people at the Aberdeen headquarters by 2030

He told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast: "The only thing that's changed since then is that we're getting on with it.

"We are recruiting about two people a week at the moment.

"What's the most important thing is how effective those people are when they come on board."

McGrail added: "The thing that we really ought to be measured on... is about the impact that our investments make.

"We've been given a budget to invest in the energy transition and to give a stake to the public in the energy transition.

"We've set a target to create 10,000 additional jobs as a result of our activities by 2030."

The idea for Great British Energy was first put forward by Sir Keir Starmer when Labour was in opposition, and became a major policy pledge in the run up to the 2024 general election.

The party also claimed that as part of a wider clean energy strategy, it could help cut average household energy bills by £300 a year.

Labour has promised to back Great British Energy with £8.3bn of funding over the lifetime of the current parliament.

The firm's first investment was in the Pentland Offshore Wind Farm, being constructed by a Danish company off the coast of Caithness.

It has also invested in a hydrogen manufacturing project in Sheffield and solar panels at schools and NHS sites, mainly in England.

McGrail said in Scotland it had been working through the Scottish government's Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (Cares), and its funding had benefitted 70 local Scottish projects.