Official: UK low carbon sectors growing at almost treble the rate of the wider economy. Bulletin from the Office of National Statistics confirms UK low carbon and renewable energy economy grew five per cent in 2016, outpacing the 1.8 per cent growth of the wider economy.
Business Green 31st Jan 2018 read more »
There are good reasons to think the UK green economy will continue to prosper, despite the headwinds from the sluggish underlying performance of the wider economy. More encouraging still, the government appears to have finally signed up fully to this narrative, with Number 10, BEIS, and Defra all singing off the same hymn sheet in praise of green industries as an engine for both economic growth and environmental protection. The sad truth is that set against the gargantuan scale of the climate crisis and the immense economic opportunity offered by decarbonisation a five per cent growth rate is a pretty paltry return. Digging into the data, the picture for the UK gets even more worrying. Sales for the solar sector plummeted from £3.1bn in 2015 to £2bn in 2016. Revenues and employment across the renewable heat, hydropower, low carbon financial and advisory sources, and carbon capture and storage sectors are all miniscule. The sector’s trade imbalance worsened, with LCRE imports soaring 38.6 per cent in 2016 to more than £6bn, while exports rose just 1.4 per cent to £3.7bn. There was extremely impressive growth recorded in Scotland and Wales, where LCRE revenues rose 7.7 per cent and 37.4 per cent respectively. But the contrast with the 2.8 per cent growth recorded in England only serves to highlight how supportive policy environments have a huge role to play in scaling up low carbon investment.
Business Green 31st Jan 2018 read more »
WIND turbines helped generate more than £5.5 billion turnover for Scotland’s renewables industry, the latest UK Government figures show. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals turnover from renewable energy activity reached £5.45m in 2016, the latest year for which statistics are available. Jobs in offshore wind were up 300 per cent to 2000 against a major drop in headcount in solar projects. The 75 per cent reduction takes headcount in that area to just 500 in the wake of Westminster subsidy cuts announced one year earlier. Meanwhile, around 8000 people are employed in onshore wind. Calling for comprehensive support from Westminster, which controls energy policy, Jenny Hogan, deputy chief executive at industry body Scottish Renewables, warned: “The rise in employment in the offshore wind and renewab le heat sectors illustrates the huge boost to jobs and investment that is possible when technologies are given the right backing by government. For these benefits to continue and grow, the whole industry needs to see that level of political commitment. The decline in employment in the solar industry shows clearly the impact of cuts to UK Government support for the sector. We would expect that future editions of this ONS survey will show declines in other areas caused by similar decisions made at Westminster.”
The National 1st Feb 2018 read more »