Scots working in low carbon and renewables up by more than a third

The low carbon and renewables sector generated a turnover of £10.5 billion, 14 per cent of the total UK sector, the Office of National Statistics numbers show.

Scotland now represents 48 per cent of all UK employment, and 53 per cent of all UK turnover, in onshore wind, while 33 per cent of all UK employment, and 28 per cent of turnover, in low carbon electricity generation, is in Scotland

For low carbon services, Scotland represents 24 per cent of all UK employment, and 26 per cent of turnover.

Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, Paul Wheelhouse MSP, said: “These are impressive figures that show how the Scottish Government’s focus on decarbonising ‎our energy system has not only allowed us to meet our climate change obligations, and to have done so early, but it has also significantly boosted the Scottish economy.

“They show how large the sector was in 2015 and, with 58,500 employees and a turnover of £10.5 billion‎, the huge opportunity that green energy presents in generating the kind of sustainable growth from which all Scotland benefits.

“It is also telling that these statistics show a sector in rude health, and playing a growing role in our economy, just as the UK Government removed a number of key support mechanisms that have encouraged substantial growth. Today, the sector remains beset by the uncertainty brought about by short-sighted and harmful decisions by UK Ministers and indecision around support in areas such as marine energy, islands wind projects, pumped hydro storage and islands grid connections, which risks investors moving outside the UK.

“While I celebrate the success these figures indicate for Scotland, I am under no illusions whatsoever as to what the wider effect of damaging UK Government decisions, and indecision, may be having on the sector in Scotland and the UK over the longer term and these figures demonstrate the scale of progress that continued, sub-optimal UK policies will put at risk.”