Industry News: Great British Energy permanent CEO appointed

July 7, 2025
Industry News: Great British Energy permanent CEO appointed

Dan McGrail’s appointment brings world-class private sector experience to publicly-owned clean power company.

  • Dan McGrail appointed as the permanent CEO of Great British Energy, after holding interim role
  • appointment of interim CEO to permanent position brings world-class private sector experience to Great British Energy
  • leadership will help the company drive forward the government’s Plan for Change and clean energy superpower mission

Dan McGrail has been appointed as the permanent Chief Executive Officer of Great British Energy, a company owned by the British people, to help drive forward the government’s Plan for Change and make the UK a clean energy superpower.

His appointment brings world-class private sector experience to Great British Energy, with the former Chief Executive of RenewableUK and CEO of Siemens Engines now leading the UK’s publicly-owned clean power revolution.

Under his stewardship as interim CEO for the last 4 months, he has helped rapidly set up the company. This includes announcing £1 billion for Great British Energy to invest in clean energy supply chains such as electric cables and floating offshore wind platforms to ensure the clean energy revolution is built here in Britain.

Meanwhile hundreds of schools and hospitals are already set to benefit from lower bills thanks to Great British Energy investment into rooftop solar. Around 200 schools and 200 hospitals will install solar panels that could power classrooms and hospital operations, with hundreds of millions in savings to be reinvested in schools and the NHS.

This follows the appointment in January of five new non-executive directors to join Chair Juergen Maier on the company’s start-up board, bringing a wide range of experience across different sectors, with knowledge on workplace rights, building UK supply chains and driving investment in clean energy.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said:

Dan has been a visionary leader as Great British Energy’s interim CEO, and will bring world-class private sector experience to our publicly-owned clean power company

Great British Energy is at the heart of our clean power mission and Plan for Change and is investing in clean energy supply chains to create manufacturing jobs here in Britain.

I look forward to working with Dan to unleash the benefits of clean energy, driving growth and new jobs in communities.

Great British Energy CEO Dan McGrail said:

It is a privilege to take on the CEO role permanently and lead Great British Energy from our Aberdeen HQ at such a pivotal moment.

We are already delivering for British people, with schools and hospitals set to benefit from cheaper energy bills.

We will now focus on scaling up as Britain’s publicly owned energy company, making strategic investments that drive forward the government’s clean power mission and give people a stake in clean energy.

RenewableUK’s Deputy Chief Executive Jane Cooper said:

We wish Dan all the very best in his crucial role leading Great British Energy, which he has spent the last few months setting up so successfully. Although he will be greatly missed by everyone at RenewableUK, his leadership skills and vision, backed by a highly capable team, have left us in the strongest possible position to thrive as we continue to expand our membership and champion the sector. Great British Energy’s ambitious plans to invest in vital new renewable energy projects, including an initial £300 million in offshore wind, will help to create tens of thousands of new jobs all over the country in innovative industries with world-class supply chains which we are proud to represent.

Dan will be based in Scotland, working from the Aberdeen headquarters, on a permanent contract with Great British Energy. He took up the post of interim CEO of Great British Energy in March on secondment from RenewableUK.

Get in touch

AREG is the original energy transition organisation, working on behalf of members to empower the energy supply chain and champion its expertise. Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to find out more about membership.

Contact Us
“

AREG has played an important role in the growth of Scotland’s renewable energy sector, engaging the supply chain and developing the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. However, we are only at the very beginning of the transition that AREG was established to both lead and support so there are still opportunities for companies to get into the constantly evolving renewables supply chain. We look forward to continuing our work together as renewables builds on its place as Scotland’s main source of power, and as we seek to deliver real change in the crucial areas of heat and transport.

Scottish Renewables
“

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce has worked closely with AREG since its formation. The recent progress in the developments of offshore wind projects by Equinor and Vattenfall are as a result of the work of the group over many years. The north-east is known as the oil and gas capital of Europe. At the Chamber, we believe the region must evolve its position to being recognised as the energy capital. Whilst hydrocarbons will continue to be essential in driving our economy for years to come, the generation of renewable resources will play an increasingly important role in providing cost-effective power, innovative development and economic growth.

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce
“

The enthusiasm and dedication of the early group that would become AREG was fundamental in us choosing to launch All-Energy in Aberdeen. The first tiny show was held in 2001, and AREG’s Chairman at the time, Jeremy Cresswell, played such an active role that I often describe him in terms such as All-Energy’s ‘midwife’. All-Energy is now the UK’s largest renewable and low carbon energy exhibition and conference in terms of number of attendees, space booked, and number of exhibiting companies. As AREG became firmly established, their presence and support for the event grew spectacularly over the years. We thank them most sincerely for their invaluable input.

All-Energy
“

Vattenfall has forged a strong working relationship with AREG through the development of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. AREG has worked tirelessly on behalf of the North East and it can take enormous credit for the growth of sustainable energy in the region and the path it has cleared for the region to capture further investment.

Vattenfall
“

Aberdeen City and Shire is emerging as a key location for renewables by successfully transferring its world-class oil and gas expertise into the sector and AREG has done much to advance this through a broad range of initiatives. It has acted as a catalyst in driving further investment in the local economy by engaging with companies, Government, public bodies and existing projects and we have been pleased to support their efforts. Scottish Enterprise will continue to engage with AREG as we increase Scotland’s use of renewable energy.

Scottish Enterprise