UK report explains the huge potential of renewables
The renewable energy sector could support as many as 400,000 jobs in the UK by 2020, according to a report published today.
The renewable energy sector could support as many as 400,000 jobs in the UK by 2020, according to a report published today.
The Renewable Energy Association (REA) and consultancy firm Innovas estimates that the industry, which currently supports around 110,000 jobs, is worth around £12.5 billion per year to the UK economy.
However, the report, which claims to be the first to analyse both the economic and employment opportunities of the sector in the UK, also says that the renewables industry has the potential to nearly double its economic worth to £24 billion by the end of the decade.
“Harnessing our renewables creates employment, and means that rather than spending money on energy imports we can keep it circulating in the UK economy,” REA’s chief executive, Gaynor Hartnell, told the BBC.
“When it comes to the employment, economic and energy challenges we face, the answer is clear - make it renewable, and make it in Britain.”
The European Commission declared last week that continued growth in low-carbon generation and energy efficiency could help to create as many as five million jobs in the EU come 2020.
The UK’s renewable sector grew 11 percent between 2009/10 and 2010/11 - far greater than national economic growth rates of 1.4 percent during the same period.
According to the report, in 2010/11 the total export value for all renewable technologies was just under £1.6 billion.
Renewable energy accounts for over 12 percent of energy across Europe, and over 16 percent of the global energy supply. However, renewables account for just 3 percent of the energy supply in the UK, putting increasing pressure on the British government to act now in order to meet its renewables target of 15 percent come 2020. Most EU countries intend to exceed their 2020 renewable energy targets.
REA analysts calculate that if the UK meets its 2020 target it would displace fossil fuels with a cumulative value of £60 billion, giving a significant boost to the UK’s balance of trade.
Greg Barker, the UK’s Climate Change Minister, remains adamant the coalition government has everything in place to meet its 2020 renewables target.
“Renewable energy not only provides us with clean and secure energy that cuts our reliance on imported fossil fuels - it generates billions of pounds of investment and potentially hundreds and thousands of jobs and is a key growth sector for the UK economy,” he said.
“The REA's report sets out plainly the opportunities and challenges in this area. We are determined to seize the momentum and secure maximum benefit for the UK.”
Images: Climate Action Stock Photos