Low carbon industries in Scotland generated £10.7bn in turnover and supported 43,500 jobs in 2014, according to the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures.
The ONS data, the first to include direct and indirect jobs, show Scotland accounts for 12.9% of the sector’s turnover in the UK and 9.7% of its employment.
For onshore wind, Scotland has 46.2% of UK employment and 57.2% of turnover.
Overall, the low carbon and renewables industry generated £83.4bn in revenue across the UK and supported 447,500 jobs.
Offshore wind accounted for 6.8% of the turnover, or £5.7bn, and onshore wind another 6.7%.
The industries measured comprise low carbon electricity, low carbon heating, energy from waste and biomass, energy efficiency, low carbon services and low emission vehicles.
“The figures reinforce the growing importance of the low carbon industries to the Scottish economy and vindicate the Scottish Government’s support for the sector and the increasingly crucial role it plays within Scotland’s energy mix and the wider economy,” Scottish minister for business, innovation and energy Paul Wheelhouse said.
“The Scottish Government strongly supports development of renewable energy and provisional energy statistics show that renewable energy sources accounted for more than 56.7% of gross electricity consumption in Scotland in 2015.”
Image: SXC
Low carbon Scotland hits £10.7bn
43,500 green industry jobs reached in 2014, latest ONS figures show
By EBS