RenewableUK welcomes groundbreaking valuation of UK’s offshore renewable resource

RenewableUK welcomes groundbreaking valuation of UK’s offshore renewable resource

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• Study shows long term potential of offshore resource matches North Sea oil and gas production
• ‘Just as 30 years ago, North Sea could be our ticket for economic growth’

RenewableUK, the country’s leading renewable energy trade association, has welcomed today’s publication of The Offshore Valuation, a groundbreaking report comparing North Sea offshore energy potential with the region’s oil and gas production.

Published by The Offshore Valuation Group, a coalition of government and industry organisations, the report suggests that using less than a third of the total available offshore resource could:

· generate the electricity equivalent of 1 billion barrels of oil annually, matching North Sea oil and gas production

· create 145,000 new jobs in this country and provide the Treasury with £28 billion in tax receipts

· enable Britain to become a net exporter of electricity by 2050

· reduce carbon emissions relative to 1990 levels by 30%

Commenting on the announcement, Peter Madigan, Head of Offshore Renewables at RenewableUK, said:

“This is a hugely exciting piece of research which sets out compelling factual evidence of the huge potential of the UK’s offshore renewable energy resource. As an association we have long been saying that the North Sea will become the Saudi Arabia of wind energy, and today’s tonne of oil and employment comparisons amply bear this out. Just as 30 years ago, the North Sea could be our ticket for economic growth. We are looking forward to the new Government putting in place the policy framework to make this happen”