Great British Energy chair Jürgen Maier has set out grand ambitions for the new publicly-owned energy firm.
Maier has indicated that he wants the firm to eventually become a major energy generator like multi-national companies Ørsted and Vattenfall.
Ørsted is the world's largest offshore wind developer and began as a Danish state-owned company, while Vattenfall remains a state-owned power firm.
“Great Britain deserves a national champion, like an Ørsted,” Maier said in an interview with The Guardian.
“These journeys always start with a vision and with an idea. And that’s exactly where Ørsted and Vattenfall started.”
Maier said GB Energy’s first five years will be focused on building the company to co-invest in new technologies.
“We will no doubt own some energy assets in that time,” he said. “But ultimately, if you take the next five years beyond that, of course we want to become a larger energy company.
“There is a long-term vision, and there’s a pragmatic step-by-step approach of getting there.”
Describing in more detail how the company will develop, Maier said GB Energy will, in its early years, “invest and play in some of the less mature markets”.
“And then ultimately we would become a longer-term operator in some of those areas, such as floating offshore wind,” he said. “But that’s going to take a much longer period of time.”
Labour has promised £8.3bn of investment in GB Energy over the course of the current parliament.
The Great British Energy bill, to formalise the creation of the company, was introduced in July. It set out five functions for the company: project development; project investment; building up renewable and nuclear energy supply chains; working with local authorities and communities to support community renewables; and strategising on how Great British Energy and Great British Nuclear will work together.
Since the bill’s introduction, the company has agreed a deal to work with Crown Estate to create offshore wind farms and confirmed its base will be in Aberdeen.
Today, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero confirmed a partnership between the UK and Scottish governments to allow Great British Energy to work with Scottish public bodies to support clean-energy supply chains.
Announcing the deal ahead of a trip to Aberdeen, energy secretary Ed Miliband said the UK government will work closely with the Scottish Government to ensure GB Energy is “primed to accelerate clean energy investment in Scotland”.
“Scottish energy workers will power the United Kingdon’s clean energy future, including in carbon capture and storage, in hydrogen, in wind, and with oil and gas for decades to come as part of a fair transition in the North Sea,” he added.
Under the agreement, the government will explore opportunities to work with Scottish public bodies active within the clean energy sector – such as Crown Estate Scotland, the Enterprise Agencies and the Scottish National Investment Bank – to “deliver quickly and effectively, avoid duplication, and deliver maximum impact and value for money from Scottish projects”.
Gillian Martin, the Scottish Government’s acting energy secretary, said: “I welcome this collaborative agreement committing Great British Energy to work with our public bodies to maximise investment into Scotland.
“Scotland already has a strong pipeline of clean energy and supply chain opportunities, is at the forefront of floating offshore wind development, and has a depth of knowledge and experience on community and local energy. We look forward to working with Great British Energy to ensure it delivers real benefits for the people of Scotland and a just energy transition.”
This article includes some reporting from our sister publication Holyrood