Scotland’s renewable energy industry and its supply chain has supported more than 47,000 jobs and more than £15bn of output in 2022, new figures show.
Using the latest data available, Strathclyde University’s Fraser of Allander Institute reports that offshore wind continues to be the renewable energy technology supporting the most employment across the Scottish economy with 19,580 full time equivalent (FTE) roles while onshore wind supports 16,865 roles and renewable heat supports 4095 roles.
Offshore wind also powered the most activity across the Scottish economy, generating more than £6.8bn of output, followed by onshore wind with £6.4bn and hydropower with £1.4bn.
The Fraser of Allander Institute’s report assessed the economic impact of the renewable energy industry and its wider benefits in terms of supply chain activity and spending within the Scottish economy.
A measure of the industry has been estimated using data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) due to the lack of detailed information available through official UK or Scottish Government data.
The 2022 results should be viewed as a standalone snapshot of activity rather than part of a continuous trend but nonetheless demonstrate the continued strong economic performance of the renewable energy industry in Scotland.
Claire Mack, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, said: “This report from the Fraser of Allander Institute offers an important snapshot of the economic value our members are creating as we move toward a future powered by clean, home-grown renewable energy.
“It reflects what we know about the activity in the industry through the development, construction and operation of major projects such as the Moray East offshore and Viking onshore windfarms.
“We know that the energy crisis, marked by sharp rises in wholesale costs, has had wide-reaching effects on industry and households.
“And while it became clear that accelerating the deployment of clean energy projects is the only way to reduce our exposure to the volatility of international gas prices, it also brought serious challenges with supply chain disruptions and rising input costs making projects more expensive to deliver.
“Our industry is working closely with government to tackle these challenges in order to build more projects and build our future jobs.
“Scotland is set to play a key role in achieving the UK’s clean power goal for 2030 meaning that Scotland’s renewable energy industry will continue to drive growth and employment across the Scottish and UK economy.
“We urge the UK and Scottish governments to enable more robust data collection so we can continue to track performance of the renewable energy industry and our contribution to growth across the UK.”
Scottish Renewables and the Fraser of Allander Institute have published two previous editions of this report on the economic impact of renewable energy in Scotland.
In 2022, the global energy crisis accelerated demand for renewable energy while industry also faced significant challenges, including supply chain disruptions and rising input costs, which made projects more expensive to deliver.
Whilst this has boosted turnover and output across the industry, rising operational and material costs have meant constrained growth in gross value added (GVA) and the creation of full-time jobs.
Professor Mairi Spowage, Director of Fraser of Allander Institute, said: “We have seen a significant shift in economic activity associated with the renewable energy industry in 2022, as more capacity comes online and moves from construction to generation. These shifts change the nature of the supply chains supported, which is likely to continue as the industry becomes more established.
“The economics of the industry are changing and becoming more challenging, which can be seen in the squeezed GVA for the industry in 2022. Policymakers must continue to focus on creating competitive conditions for renewable energy to ensure we reap the economic benefits of the energy transition.
“We will be working in partnership with Scottish renewables over 2025 and 2026 to produce improved outputs from the data available, including a consistent time series – look out for our next update in early 2026.”