Clean Energy Made in the UK

The UK is presented with an enormous opportunity to establish a thriving domestic wind manufacturing industry, as the country transitions to clean energy, according to a new report, Clean Energy Made in the UK, by Uplift and Transition Economics. 

The research, conducted by Transition Economics, shows how a ‘Jobs Bonus’ can be designed to ensure the government’s clean energy mission creates good quality, permanent jobs and is delivered by workers in industrial heartlands - like Scottish oil and gas communities and the North East of England. 

An intervention by the government could create 10,000 permanent renewable energy jobs and up to 13,300 indirect jobs in areas that are experiencing decline, supporting oil and gas workers to transition into new industries. 

Successive governments have failed to grasp this enormous opportunity, despite jobs in the oil and gas industry having halved over the past decade as North Sea reserves have declined. 

The UK’s 50 wind farms currently account for more than a fifth of global offshore wind capacity -  but a typical North Sea turbine contains three times as much material from abroad than the UK. 

A properly resourced Jobs Bonus could mean that up to 50% of the manufacturing content in the offshore wind pipeline could be produced in the UK, supplied by 30 new or upgraded manufacturing facilities. 

This report proposes a package of measures - administered through the Contracts for Difference Regulations and in conjunction with other national policies - that focus on job quality, job creation in key locations and clear pathways for oil and gas workers to transition. 

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To read the report in full click here