Employment in Scotland’s renewables sector rocketed to 58,000 in 2015

Employment in Scotland’s low carbon and renewables sector increased by more than a third in 2015. The sector generated a turnover of £10.5 billion, 14% of the total UK sector, in 2015, according to figures released by the Office of National Statistics.

The number of employees in Scotland’s low carbon and renewables sector rose from 43,500 in 2014 to 58,500 in 2015.

Scotland is a major contributor to the UK’s green energy sector as a whole, according to the new information. 33% of all UK employment and 28% of turnover in low carbon electricity generation is in Scotland, as is 24% of UK employment and 26% of turnover in low carbon services.

In a Scottish government press release, Paul Wheelhouse, Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, responded to the new data.

"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." he said.

"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.”

Wheelhouse also expressed concern about the UK government’s impact on the low carbon and renewable sector:

"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."