GB Energy Launches Aberdeen Energy Taskforce

In a statement posted on its website recently, Great British Energy (GBE) announced that it has launched the “Aberdeen Energy Taskforce”.

The taskforce is defined in the statement as “a new leadership group designed to ensure that the energy transition delivers for the Northeast of Scotland – securing good local jobs, investment, and opportunity as Britain moves to clean power”.

In the statement, GBE said the taskforce will act as a bridge between national ambition and local opportunity.

“It will advise the company’s board and executive team on how to ensure GBE’s investment reflects the strengths, needs, and aspirations of Aberdeen and the wider region,” the statement noted.

“The move supports the Government’s Clean Power Mission to secure home-grown energy and achieve clean power by 2030, while ensuring that communities are not left behind in the transition,” it added.

GBE highlighted in the statement that Aberdeen has been the energy capital of Europe for decades but said job losses and market volatility in oil and gas have hit the region hard.

“The taskforce will help ensure the wealth of skills and experience developed in oil and gas fuels Britain’s next generation of clean energy industries – from offshore wind and green hydrogen to carbon capture and storage (CCUS),” the statement noted.

According to the GBE statement, the taskforce’s core objectives include; “championing Aberdeen’s global role in the clean energy transition across offshore wind, hydrogen, CCUS, and workforce reskilling”; “securing a fair transition, ensuring that GBE investment delivers secure, well-paid, low-carbon jobs and skills for oil and gas workers, young people, and underrepresented groups”; maximizing regional value by helping shape capital and procurement decisions that unlock local supply chains, innovation, and manufacturing”; “embedding community benefit at the heart of GBE delivery, through engagement with local authorities, anchor institutions, and residents”; and “advocating with one voice for Aberdeen and the North East in national energy decisions”.

The full list of taskforce members, as shown in the statement, can be seen below:

Juergen Maier, Chair GBE
Graeme Sword, Co-Chair of Taskforce
Iain Anderson, Co-Chair of Taskforce
Allan Pirie, Chief Executive Officer, Ashtead Technology
Bob Keiller, Chair, Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce
Bob Ruddiman, Co-Head of Energy, Burness Paull
David Whitehouse, Chief Executive Officer, OEUK
Donella Beaton, Vice-Principal, RGU
Jeff Corray, Head of Private Equity, Piper Sandler and CFO D2Zero
Maggie McGinlay, Chief Executive Officer, ETZ
Michael Love, Head of Policy, Opito
Myrtle Dawes, Chief Executive Officer, Net Zero Technology Centre
Neil McCulloch, Chief Executive Officer, Adura
Nick Dalgarno, Managing Director, Energy, Power & Infrastructure, Piper Sandler
Roy MacGregor, Chair, Global Energy Group
Simon Roddy, Senior Vice President and Upstream Director, Shell
Steve Gray, Chief Executive Officer, Ventex

The taskforce will meet quarterly, supported by a dedicated secretariat within GBE’s External Affairs team, GBP noted in the statement. Membership will include representatives from across the energy sector and a Community Sounding Board will also be established “to ensure grassroots engagement, giving residents, local authorities and anchor institutions a direct voice in shaping GBE’s decisions”, the statement revealed.

Quarterly reports will be submitted to GBE’s Executive Committee, with minutes published publicly to ensure transparency, GBE said in the statement, adding that the taskforce will operate initially until Autumn 2027, with an impact review after 12 months.

In the statement, Juergen Maier, Chair of Great British Energy, said, “Aberdeen has been the energy capital of Europe for decades”.

“As we are accelerating the energy transition, we’re ensuring that the wealth of experience gained in oil and gas helps drive our mission to make Britain a renewable energy superpower,” he added.

“Our new taskforce will make sure that local supply chains, manufacturing and innovation benefit from every decision we make and to help make the transition successful for them and their teams. The northeast’s voice will be heard loud and clear as we manage this transition together,” he continued.

Graeme Sword, appointed Co-Chair of the Aberdeen Energy Taskforce, said in the statement, “this taskforce will ensure that local insight, industry experience, and community ambition directly shape Great British Energy’s investment decisions”.

“Our goal is to create a bridge between the North East’s proud oil and gas legacy and the clean energy industries of the future – delivering prosperity and security for the region for generations to come,” Sword added.

Iain Anderson, appointed Co-Chair of the Aberdeen Energy Taskforce, also noted in the statement, “Aberdeen has world-class skills, innovation and energy expertise”.

“The challenge now is to connect that strength to Britain’s national mission on clean power. I’m proud to help lead a Taskforce that will make sure Great British Energy listens, learns, and invests with the Northeast at its heart,” he added.

In a separate statement sent to Rigzone, OEUK CEO David Whitehouse said, “I’m delighted to be part of the Aberdeen Energy Taskforce, working alongside colleagues from industry, government, and the community to help shape a fair and practical energy transition for the North East of Scotland”.

“Aberdeen has long been at the heart of the UK’s energy story, and this taskforce is an important step in ensuring that the skills, innovation, and world-class supply chain built here continue to drive our energy future,” he added.

“Together, we have a real opportunity to deliver a transition that secures jobs, attracts investment, and strengthens the region’s role in global energy leadership,” he continued.

In a statement posted on its site last month, GBE announced that Beverley Gower-Jones, Chris Stark, and Emma Floyd had been appointed to its board.

“Beverley Gower-Jones brings a wide range of experience from previous roles driving investment in clean energy,” GBE noted in that statement.

“Chris Stark currently heads Mission Control in the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero,” it added.

“Emma Floyd is the Director of Clean Energy Investment at the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero,” it continued.

GBE highlighted in that statement that, in January 2025, GBE appointed six start-up board members, headed by Chair Juergen Maier.

“They bring a wide range of experience from their roles across different sectors, with knowledge on workplace rights, building UK supply chains and driving investment in clean energy,” GBE noted in the statement, referring to the six start-up board members.

Back in July, GBE announced on its site that Dan McGrail had been appointed as the permanent Chief Executive Officer of Great British Energy.

GBE describes itself on its site as an operationally independent company owned by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, formally established by the Great British Energy Act 2025.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com