New report claims wind power benefiting UK economy
LONDON - Hitting back at the critics, a new government supported study has stated that onshore wind power industry has created thousands of jobs and generated millions of pounds for the economy.
According to the BiGGAR Economics report released Monday by RenewableUK (R-UK) and the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) the study of 18 wind farms across the country had revealed that the onshore wind power industry supported 8,600 jobs and was worth 548 million pounds to the UK economy in 2011.
Of these around 1,100 jobs were created at the Local Authority level, and poured an estimated 84 million pounds in the local communities.
If onshore wind is deployed at a scale suggested in the Government's Renewable Energy Roadmap, the economy could benefit to the tune of 0.78 billion pounds by 2020, supporting around 11,600 jobs, R-UK said.
Edward Davey, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (pictured), argued onshore wind power is a cost effective and valuable part of the UK's diverse energy mix.
"Not only does wind power provide secure, low carbon power to homes and businesses, it supports jobs and brings significant investment up and down the country too. Our policies of increasing community involvement will also help ensure the right balance between developers and community interests," Davey said.
With the cost of the technology coming down, the report suggests there is a real opportunity to reap economic benefits from onshore wind power.
R-UK CEO Maria McCaffery stated that for every megawatt of installed capacity close to 700,000 pounds is created with over 100,000 pounds of that staying in the Local Authority area and over 90% of the operating and management costs, contributing a further 47,610 pounds per MW, according to the report.
One in three of the jobs at local level are in operations and maintenance, showing that wind farms sustain employment years after construction, R-UK said.
For both the development and operations and management stages of the wind farm process the vast majority of the value of contracts stays within the UK.
The report's authors also point out that many of the 8,000 components required to manufacture a turbine are, or could be produced in the UK, driving up the amount of UK content during the construction phase to 529,383 pounds per MW at current prices.
Comments
More Edinburgh News
RSS-
Bolt closer to competing at Glasgow 2014 after Virgin Media deal
May 25 - Usain Bolt appears more likely to compete at Glasgow 2014 after Virgin Media were unveiled as the latest sponsor of the Commonwealth Games. The New York-based company, whose UK operations are in Surrey, claim to be Britain's leading communications and entertainment ...
-
Edinburgh Airport goes green ahead of Hibs Hampden Scottish Cup final date
/* SMA widget */ #sma-val-service{ text-align: center; /*margin-top:5px;*/ margin:5px auto 5px; width:230px;} #sma-val-service img{} #sma-val-service p{ float: left; width: 100%; display: block; text-align: left; } #sma-val-service p.valuation{ text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.5em; color: Green; } #sma-val-service span{ font-weight: bold; display: block; text-align: left; ...
-
Teenager knocked down and killed in East Ayrshire
James Martin Watson, 18, from Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire, was struck by a Fiat Punto driving southbound on the A77 Glasgow to Stranraer road, near to the Bellfield Interchange, at around 10.40pm last ...
-
Man spotted near upturned dinghy in Firth of Forth rescued by Queensferry RNLI lifeboat
THE volunteer crew sped to the scene after Aberdeen Coastguard raised the alarm after the man was seen to the east of Hound Point oil ...
-
Footballers killer curry charity bid binned because of safety concerns over chainsaw dish
PLAYERS from Falcon Thistle FC were to raise money for the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, who rejected the plan to consume Edinburgh's "Kismot Killer" over safety ...
-
Man leaps from second-storey window to escape house fire in Tranent
The man is thought to have jumped to escape the blaze in a two-storey mid-terraced house on Coalgate Avenue, in Tranent, East Lothian, ...
-
Woolwich terror attack Scottish Mosques praised for response to brutal killing of Lee Rigby
SCOTTISH Mosques and Imams have been praised for their response to the brutal murder of a British soldier in Woolwich on Wednesday.MSP Humza Yousaf commended Glasgow Mosques for using their Friday prayer sermons to unequivocally condemn the brutal murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich on Wednesday.Muslims in Scotland's largest city said the attack had no basis in their religion, and ...
-
Football fans heading to Hampden for cup final warned to plan their journeys
FOOTBALL fans travelling to Hampden for tomorrow's Scottish Cup final face rail chaos, road closures due to a marathon and a ban on street boozing in Glasgow.Supporters are being urged to plan ahead and add extra time to journeys to get to the ground for the 3pm kick-off.Around 50,000 fans are expected to head for the National Stadium, with around 20,000 supporters from each of the ...
-
Brad Pitts World War Z set for Glasgow preview ahead of movies UK release next month
What price can really be put on the loving relationship of a family, set against some of the wanton spending often exposed in the corridors of ...
-
Experts fear descendants of Greyfriars Bobby could soon vanish as humans opt for designer dogs
LEGEND has it that Skye terriers are the most loyal dogs in the world, but humans have forgotten to be loyal to them.The breed immortalised by Greyfriars Bobby has fallen out of fashion - replaced by trendy designer dogs such as labradoodles and Siberian huskies.Numbers have declined so steeply that experts fear there may only be 3000 Skye terriers left in the world.And with as few as 30 ...
-
TV scientist Professor Iain Stewart slams Scottish Government over plans to drop geology Higher in state schools
A POPULAR telly scientist yesterday accused the Government of dumbing down after it emerged geology will no longer be taught at state schools.From 2015, pupils won't be able to study the subject for a Higher.Critics say the decision to drop the subject is due to a lack of training, as there has been no geology in teacher training since 1985.Professor Iain Stewart is president of the Royal ...
-
Customs agents seize 24000 litres of illicit fuel containing bleach cat litter and acid at Cairnryan ferry port
SMUGGLERS put their lives at risk by carrying the contaminated diesel onto a ferry in Ireland in an unsafe vehicle - in a bid to dodge 17,000 in ...
-
Record view Dying mums final wish unfulfilled as Scottish Government deem life prolonging drug too expensive
/* SMA widget */ #sma-val-service{ text-align: center; /*margin-top:5px;*/ margin:5px auto 5px; width:230px;} #sma-val-service img{} #sma-val-service p{ float: left; width: 100%; display: block; text-align: left; } #sma-val-service p.valuation{ text-align: center; font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.5em; color: Green; } #sma-val-service span{ font-weight: bold; display: block; text-align: left; ...
-
Familys grief as campaigner dies just one month after winning battle for life-prolonging cancer drug in Scotland
ANNE FISHER, 50, died knowing that life-prolonging drug Ipilimumab was finally approved for use in Scotland just a month before she lapsed into a ...
-
Mums fury as sectarian thug who beat and abused her on a train escapes a jail sentence
A MUM of three told of her anger yesterday after the sectarian thug who beat her up avoided jail.Innocent Elizabeth Irwin, 39, was set upon by cowardly Jade McKnight, 17, on a train.Elizabeth, who was repeatedly punched in the head and body by McKnight because she asked her to stop singing bigoted songs, said: "I assumed she would have been given a custodial sentence and I'm very ...
-
‘Denial of cancer drug left me on death row’
A TERMINALLY ill north-east father says he has been "left on death row" after being denied a drug that could keep him alive - because he lives in ...
-
North-east skipper convinces TV chef cod stock on rise
Celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - who angered skippers by suggesting UK fish stocks were running dangerously low - admitted yesterday that North Sea cod stocks were now rising towards healthy ...
-
Councils taken to task over high burial costs
She and the Rev Bryan Kerr have persuaded the Church of Scotland's church and society council to launch a full investigation into burial and cremation fees across the ...
-
County sign winger from Netherlands top flight
The left-sided player, pictured, has moved from Netherlands top-flight club SC Cambuur and will join the Staggies on their pre-season tour of the Netherlands in ...
-
Only one way for Hibs to end the cup jinx
Fenlon had to deal with similar talk about their record in the tournament ahead of last year's final defeat by Hearts and knows the only solution is to defeat Celtic ...
-
Two men held over ‘fight’ in mid-air
They were held on suspicion of endangerment of an aircraft after an RAF Typhoon jet was scrambled to escort the plane, which was travelling from Pakistan to the ...
-
Fit-again Goudie ready to pick up the pace
Fit-again pace bowler Gordon Goudie is ready to put his injury frustrations behind him as the Saltires return to YB40 action with a bank holiday double-header against Derbyshire and ...
News from around our Network
Comments
No comments yet for this story
Have your say