THE true scale of employment in Scotland’s renewables sector has emerged ahead of a major-two day conference on the future of energy in Europe.
A report by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills found there are an estimated 21,000 workers across the nine green energy sectors.
Previous efforts to document employment in this area were based on a direct count of employees, with no analysis of the supply chain. However, the “size and performance of the UK Low Carbon Economy” report, which focuses on 2010-2013, also looked at indirect employment.
Most of the jobs were in onshore wind, which has a head count of 5,400, with another 2,100 in offshore wind.
The growing solar sector supports 3,200 posts, with 3,100 people working in heat pumps and 2,800 in alternative fuels.
Hydro electricity generates employment for 1,700 workers, with another 1,100 in solar thermal power. Another 1,000 people are employed in marine energy, with 600 working on geothermal projects.
Overall, 44,800 jobs in Scotland have been created in low-carbon sectors, but industry body Scottish Renewables believes these figures may still be an underestimation because the report does not include some key areas of activity like grid updates.
Policy director Jenny Hogan said: “For the first time ever we are able to see the full picture of the remarkable number of jobs renewable energy provides in Scotland – but recent UK Government announcements will have left many of those employed in the sector with an uncertain future.
“We have doubled the amount of renewable electricity produced in Scotland since 2007, and that growth has been reflected in the number of jobs in renewables. More than 23,000 people living in Scotland now rely on renewable energy for employment opportunities, from onshore wind to low-carbon heat and energy from waste.
“Threats to UK Government support for technologies like onshore wind and solar means investors are increasingly wary about renewables, with knock-on effects for projects, and those who rely on them for employment.
“Onshore wind sector, for example, has played a crucial role. As the cheapest form of renewable energy available to be deployed at scale, the sector is Scotland’s largest, supporting 5,400 jobs – 21 per cent of Scotland’s renewables total.”
The figures were released to The National ahead of a two-day conference to be held by Scottish Renewables in Edinburgh next month.
The event will examine new ways of making better use of our energy systems to serve homes, business and public buildings.
Hogan said: “Political events are changing the European energy landscape and have led to a new focus on getting secure, safe supplies of energy for the continent, while moving away from fossil fuels. Adapting our energy systems and networks to become smarter and greener could solve so many of the problems we currently face as our lives become more dependent on harder-to-source energy.
“For example, allowing communities to produce their own electricity and biofuel, then use it to power their homes and cars, reduces the burden on both the electricity grid and takes tankers off the road network.
“Household batteries which store energy from rooftop solar panels and then use it to power an electric car similarly reduces the pressure on our national electricity grid and puts the consumer in charge of their own energy supply.
“Spare electricity produced by a wind turbine can be used to create hydrogen gas, which can be stored and later used to power hydrogen buses.
“Decommissioned oil and gas infrastructure can be repurposed and used for carbon capture and storage projects, reducing the carbon emissions from fossil fuel power stations.
Hogan added: “The opportunities which appear when we break down the barriers we’ve traditionally placed on energy are enormous.”
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