Renewables investment may top £1bn

Dec 7 2012

Investment in the renewable energy industry topped £900 million in the first half of this year, according to an industry body.

The country is on track to reach £1 billion for the first time, said Scottish Renewables.

Referring to figures from the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change, chief executive Niall Stuart said 2011 was a record-breaking year

"We learnt that we smashed the 2011 renewable electricity target, that the sector supports some 11,000 jobs, is making a massive dent in carbon emissions and output has again hit record levels," he said.

"More than £800 million of this came from onshore wind, showing the importance of the sector during a challenging time for Scotland's economy. That investment is of course supporting thousands of jobs across Scotland in project management, civil engineering, professional services and operations and maintenance.

"This year could see more than double the level of capital projects delivered than in 2011. We attracted around £750 million of investment in the entire year of 2011 and more than £900 million in just six months of 2012. If we continue at this rate there's a good chance we could see in excess of £1.5 billion of capital projects."

Energy Minister Fergus Ewing welcomed the figures which he said show the industry is being given the certainty it needs to invest.

"Scotland's clean green energy resources are delivering thousands of jobs and hundreds of thousands of pounds of investment to communities across Scotland," he said.

"These figures show the size of the prize renewable energy is offering to the people of Scotland, with renewable energy investment in Scotland is now set to exceed £1 billion in 2012 alone.

"The list of recent companies investing, or planning to invest, in Scotland's renewable energy future shows that Scotland is increasingly the destination of choice for renewable energy investment."