Executive careers consultancy UK Knack Group has recently announced that, according to a report commissioned by the South West Regional Development Agency, marine renewable energy could support as many as 5750 jobs in the next 20 years.
Managing Director of The UK Knack Group: “The installation of the facilities and related support services, and the continuing maintenance of the whole vast infrastructure, will be a major investment and very labour intensive.”
The report estimates a benefit to the economy of about four point eight billion pounds from this development, and a significant percentage of that from the installation of offshore wind turbines together with wave and tidal harnessing projects.
“It will be expensive, though,” said UK Knack Group’s managing director, referring again to the Offshore Renewables Resource and Development report. “At least on paper, the outlay will seem high, but we have to see it as an investment.”
Before the Resource Development Agency’s closure 10 months ago, its director of sustainable resources Claire Gibson expressed her hope that the initiative for this capitalisation on such a valuable resource would be taken up by successive agencies.
The UK Knack Group: “Miss Gibson is to be supported in this, because renewable energy is the future for the south-west. It’s a peninsular region with a lot of natural resources, well placed to be in the vanguard of renewable energy development as a cost-effective, sustainable alternative to oil and coal. That in turn will help tackle climate change.
“Look at what the region offers – high levels of wind, wave and solar energy, and the best climate in the country for cultivation of crops.”
Only two months ago, the world’s largest test site for wave energy technology opened on the Cornish coast. It had been feared that the scheme might be scrapped with the winding up of the SWRDA and the European funding freeze, but the project had been approved long before those decisions and is now installed off the coast from Hayle.
About The UK Knack Group
Built on decades of experience the Knack team consists of some of the most experienced professionals in the UK and abroad who have helped thousands of businesses and people to be more successful.
( prweb )
[mappress]
Source: prweb, January 31, 2011