Leadership from the government’s publicly-owned energy company Great British Energy will come to market in the next few months with a “precise set” of areas it will be involved in.
That is according to Dan McGrail, interim CEO of GB Energy, who said that the company needs to identify the “right places to go”. Speaking at Innovation Zero earlier this week, McGrail explained that GB Energy will focus on areas of high ambition with a low risk appetite.
He conceded that there has been “a lot to do” to set up the new company, fundamentally around strategy. Through the time that GB Energy has been in discussion, its proposed remit and responsibilities have changed.
Almost a year into the current government’s term, the company has pledged solar investment, followed by a £300 million investment for offshore wind, as well as various partnerships to help it own and develop renewable energy projects, as a tool to encourage private investment.
McGrail said another ‘bucket’ in GB Energy’s domain will be to scale community and public sector renewable energy generation projects, perhaps also enabling use of public land for projects.
The company will also co-invest to support domestic supply chains, although McGrail said all of these things are examples and not a finite list.
Pushed on the recent announcement that GB Energy will ensure its solar supply chain is slavery-free (covered in detail on our sister site, Solar Power Portal), McGrail explained that as a publicly-owned company, the commitment is about “always aspiring to meet the gold standard across all areas of best practice”.
UK law already prohibits modern slavery, and the GB Energy promise is not legally binding.
McGrail evaded a question about whether GB Energy will help to establish manufacturing in the UK, stating instead that it will enter development stage projects, taking a minority stake, with the longer-term aspiration of developing its own projects.
He added that there has been a “surprising” appetite from the private sector to co-invest with GB Energy.
While he said that CEO of GB Energy is a “very attractive role”, McGrail did not confirm whether his hat is in the ring for the permanent position—though he did not rule it out.
