Expanding green energy can bring a bonanza of good jobs and support levelling up

Green energy, like wind and solar, can support five times more secure and skilled jobs in the UK than gas generation, according to a report by think tank Green Alliance.[1]

It commends the government’s ambitions to expand offshore wind, solar and nuclear power, as thousands of new jobs will be created. But warns that, under current plans, this work will end up concentrated mostly around the East, South East and South West of England.

The report says that a “bonanza of secure jobs in green energy” across the whole of the UK, including Wales, the Midlands and the North of England is possible with a clear jobs-focused plan, helping to level up those regions that most need it. This means addressing the shortages of skilled workers needed to expand the industry, with targeted training programmes and financial incentives for workers to move jobs.

It recommends accelerating the benefits of homegrown green energy to reduce the need for imports, including through more ambitious targets to expand British onshore and offshore wind; supporting companies to invest in green skills via the tax system; and setting a 2035 phase out date for gas power.

The report follows new polling by Public First for Green Alliance that reveals very strong public support for green energy, with 76 per cent believing it to be the best route to self-sufficiency and 72 per cent saying it’s the way to bring down bills. [2]

Sam Alvis, head of economy at Green Alliance, said:

“Lower prices is only one way to tackle the cost of living, the other is to get people into better paid more secure jobs. Thankfully, a national mission on low carbon energy will do both. 

“But the government needs to unleash the potential of green energy to create a bonanza of secure jobs in green energy and support businesses and workers to get the skills they need.”

[1] Green Alliance, Powering the labour market: skilled work in a low carbon energy system, July 2022

[2] Public First, New polling for Green Alliance, May 2022