The Scottish renewables industry will receive an unprecedented boost over the next five or six years as a massive £8 billion is poured into building new projects and developing the country’s renewable technology manufacturing sector. Scotland currently lies second in the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)’s renewable investment league, with £1.7 billion worth of projects completed and more than 4,400 new jobs created last year.

However, the £8 million investment is likely to push Scotland far into the lead for many years to come, with renewables projects currently in the pipeline set to create a further 3,300 jobs. The country certainly has the necessary resources in place to become a world-leading renewable energy centre. Scotland enjoys 25% of Europe’s offshore wind and tidal resources, as well as 10% of its marine power. The plethora of new developments will breathe life into many areas suffering from high unemployment and industrial decline, such as Leith in Edinburgh which will be the home of a new £121m offshore wind hub.

At the moment, the renewable energy industry provides around 11,000 jobs in Scotland and the government is already 31% ahead of its interim targets to produce all its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. By that date, the Scottish government hopes to have installed another 10GW of offshore wind capacity and marine energy, which could create more than 30,000 more jobs.

Wilding says: ‘It’s good to see Scotland investing heavily in the renewables industry. Developing existing technologies and creating new ones is key to reducing our dependency on oil and imported gas. However, it’s important to remember that for the time being at least, fossil fuels and nuclear must still play their part in providing secure energy supplies. ’

Source:Blue & Green Tomorrow