Today (10 July 2024), Colin Marr, Chief Executive of the Inverness Chamber of Commerce, together with: Derek Brown, Chief Executive, Highland Council; Stuart Black, Chief Executive, Highlands and Islands Enterprise; Alison Wilson, Director of Economic Development and Advancement, UHI; and Calum MacPherson, Chief Executive, Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport, have written to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Right Honourable Ed Miliband MP.
The group of key business and organisation leaders is calling on the new Labour UK Government to locate the headquarters of the proposed GB Energy, a new publicly owned green power company, to be based in the Highlands of Scotland. This comes as the region positions itself as one of Europe’s leading green energy hubs following the establishment of the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport (ICFGF), and where the majority of the UKs clean energy will be generated.
The letter, in full below, outlines the key reasons why the Scottish Highlands is the best place for GB Energy to be based and why this decision would align with the Prime Minister’s commitments that the firm will drive the transition to clean energy, investing in wind and solar projects, as well as new technologies including floating offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.
Colin Marr, Inverness Chamber Chief Executive said: “We have written to Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, and asked him to give full consideration to locating the headquarters of GB Energy in the Highlands.
“The incoming Labour government has made a commitment to create GB Energy as a publicly owned company that through investment in technology and supply chains will help deliver clean energy to every corner of the UK. It will be at the centre of delivering our transformation to net zero.
“In the Highlands through the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport we know we are on track to deliver the majority of the UKs clean energy over the medium to long term future. Having GB Energy headquartered here makes sense so that the public company leading the transition is co-located with the generation, manufacturing, assembling and technology advances.
“For the Highlands the location of GB Energy would be another step to transforming the area. For the last decade the working age population in the Highlands has declined. It is predicted to decline further. The location of a major government department or publicly owned company would help to reverse that by bringing secure well-paid employment. It would also help secure long overdue public investment in infrastructure – especially transport.
“We are already going to be at the centre of the of the energy transition, and the location of GB Energy would incentivise companies who are leading this change to also headquarter in the Highlands, and therefore bring further population and employment benefits.”
“In writing to Mr Miliband it was essential that the main public bodies in the Highlands were also on board with this request. Locating GB Energy here would have implications for transport, housing, training and other infrastructure so it was essential that those responsible for delivering these plans all share the same ambition and are ready to step up if and when the opportunity presents itself. I think our region is united in its ambition to ensure that we fully benefit form the coming energy transition.”
