A survey commissioned by Scottish Renewables has found Full Time Employment (FTE) among participating companies has reached 11,695.
The result is an increase of 5% over last year’s study and is a higher employment growth rate when compared to the Scottish economy as a whole.
The sector with the most workers by far is wind energy; with 3,397 persons employed on a full time equivalent basis in the onshore wind sector and 1,842 in offshore wind activities.
Solar has a long way to go to catch up, with just 353 persons.
The good renewable news in Scotland seems as though it will continue. 54% of firms stated they envision increasing their staffing levels during the next 12 months and just 1.6% felt their employment levels would decrease.
The majority of employment is in Scotland’s Central Belt – the area of highest population density within the country.
The biggest perceived barriers to companies in terms of their growth aspirations were uncertainty over market reform, uncertainty over planning/consenting/licensing and uncertainty over grid connections.
“Renewables is proving it can be a significant contributor to many local economies throughout the country with emerging sectors such as offshore wind and marine energy already playing their part in creating much needed job opportunities,” said Joss Blamire, Senior Policy Manager for Scottish Renewables. However, he warned that the industry should not become complacent.
2013 looks to have been a record year for renewables in Scotland, helped along by an ambitious target to source 100 per cent of the nation’s electricity from renewable sources by 2020; a target it is well on the way to meeting.
541 organisations participated in the survey. The full report, “Employment in Renewable Energy in Scotland”, can be viewed here (PDF).
Scottish Renewables represents more than 330 organisations working in the industry.
