UK’s new state-owned energy company starts hiring

Unlock Editor’s Digest for free

FT editor Roula Khalaf selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.

The UK government has begun recruiting for GB Energy, with plans to reveal the long-awaited location for the state-owned company’s headquarters in Scotland next month.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has posted job adverts on social media platform LinkedIn for “mid-level” positions for the new company, which will be capitalized with £8.3 billion over parliament to accelerate the roll-out of clean energy. Positions include engagement leader and energy project development leadership roles.

At an event in Aberdeen on Thursday, Energy Minister Michael Shanks said the location of GB Energy’s headquarters would be revealed “early next month”. Parliament returns from summer recess on September 2.

The establishment of GB Energy was a key pledge of Labour’s manifesto as it seeks to develop more renewable energy and reduce emissions from electricity generation to net zero by 2030. The company will own, manage and operate clean energy projects, helping, also in obtaining newer technologies such as carbon capture and hydrogen from the soil.

The location of its headquarters has become hotly contested in Scotland, where lobbyists have campaigned vigorously for Aberdeen, the capital of the North Sea oil industry, to become its natural home.

Other potential locations include Edinburgh, the country’s financial and administrative capital, as well as Glasgow, Labour’s traditional heartland, which switched from the Scottish National Party to Labour, which underpinned Sir Keir Starmer’s stunning electoral revival north of the border .

With the North Sea oil basin in decline, many in north-east Scotland fear the transition to renewable energy will lead to economic deprivation. The government’s plans to increase the one-off energy tax have exacerbated concerns about making a “just transition” from hydrocarbons to renewables.

An open letter from more than 40 organizations last week warned the UK government that the tax on energy profits risks “thousands of jobs” in manufacturing, engineering and technology companies, essential to progress towards net zero targets.

Advocates argue that locating GB Energy in Aberdeen, a center for offshore skills that can be transferred from the fossil fuel industry to clean energy, would help alleviate concerns.

The engagement role will be based in one of DESNZ’s offices outside of London: Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh or Salford. The Energy Project Development position could also be based in London. Both £52,985 per annum roles offer hybrid working, with the expectation to attend the office for 40-60% of the time.

The lead engagement role is “critical” to the success of the GB Energy set-up, the advert says, which is looking for candidates from outside London and in particular Scotland.

The role is central to developing the policy, legislation and institutional architecture required to establish the company. The successful candidate would lead a ‘hub’ team dealing with communications, briefing and ministerial engagements.

The other role is for someone to ‘lead’ the UK Energy Directorate’s energy project development workflow.

Last month, the government announced a partnership between GB Energy and the Crown Estate, which leases the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, to develop new offshore wind projects.

Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, has argued that developing more renewable energy capacity in the UK will lower bills in the long term by reducing Britain’s exposure to gas prices.

UK energy bills are set to rise this winter after Ofgem, Britain’s energy regulator, on Friday raised the price cap on energy bills for the last three months of this year by 10%, blaming prices gas wholesaler.

“The only solution to lower bills and greater energy independence is the government’s clean, homegrown energy mission,” Miliband said on Friday.