GB Energy plan to focus on historical oil and gas areas

Great British Energy (GBE) says its investments aim to support at least 10,000 jobs over the next five years, with a focus on areas historically dependent on oil and gas.

The publicly-owned body, set up by the UK government, has been told by ministers to invest billions to accelerate the transition to green energy.

It says it wants the transition to be seen as "the great economic opportunity of a lifetime" rather than a financial burden.

But there are concerns that the rate of job creation may struggle to keep pace with the number of roles being lost in fossil fuel sectors.

One study, from Robert Gordon University, estimates that a thousand jobs a month are being lost in oil and gas which would create a huge gap with the 10,000 being supported by GBE's investments.

GBE has yet to formally confirm the future shape of its workforce in Aberdeen but last month revealed that only 15 people were currently based there.

Creating a headquarters in Aberdeen was a key commitment by Labour during the 2024 general election campaign.

It is still to secure premises for the headquarters and a workforce plan is being developed.

But its strategic plan, which is being published on Thursday, commits to Aberdeen being its "corporate backbone" and that "the majority" of employees will be located there.

It also plans to explore the option of creating "satellite" offices in other parts of Scotland.

The strategic plan sets out GBE's priorities for the next five years.

It commits to delivering at least 15 gigawatts of clean energy generation and storage by 2030.

It also plans to create a "toolkit" to encourage more community ownership of renewable generation projects where the profits or savings can be reinvested into local areas.

By supporting community energy projects and expanding public participation, it hopes to support 1,000 local jobs.

GBE chief executive Dan McGrail said: "We are proud to be putting public ownership to work, unlocking investment, powering communities, creating jobs, and building an energy system that delivers for the UK.

"This strategic plan marks a major milestone in our mission to accelerate clean energy and the industries that support it."

The plan also details an aim to invest enough public funds by 2030, to mobilise £15bn of private finance over the longer term.

It also wants to use public land for wind and solar projects which would then generate income for communities.