23 Apr 2012

First ever analysis of whole UK renewable energy sector reveals North West employs 9,400 with a turnover of £1.2 billion

CNG Services Ltd¹ featured in a new report which finds that the UK’s £12.5
billion renewables industry supports 110,000 jobs across the supply chain

‘Renewable Energy: Made in Britain,’ a ground-breaking new report from the REA² and Innovas, leaders in the low carbon economy field, will be launched today – on the eve of the Clean Energy Ministerial Summit³ – at the award winning headquarters of Renewable Energy Systems⁴. This marks the first time that the turnover and employment figures of the entire UK renewables sector have been quantified and brought together in one place.

The report finds that the UK renewables industry is worth £12.5 billion and supports 110,000 jobs, with 400,000 required to meet the 2020 renewables targets⁵. The report also reveals:

• The North West renewables sector employs over 9,400 people across 611 companies
• 2,670 employed in the biomass production and utilisation sectors
• Turnover from the renewables sector is around £1.2 billion

These findings come just days after the European Commission identified the green economy as a “key sector” offering “important job creation potential,” with renewables alone claimed to provide up to 3 million jobs across the EU to 2020⁶.

When it comes to the employment, economic and energy challenges we face, this report gives a clear answer: Make it renewable, and make it in Britain.”

Gaynor Hartnell
REA Chief Executive

“Renewable energy not only provides us with clean and secure energy that cuts our reliance on imported fossil fuels – it generates billions of pounds of investment and potentially hundreds and thousands of jobs and is a key growth sector for the UK economy. The REA’s report sets out plainly the opportunities and challenges in this area. We are determined to seize the momentum and secure maximum benefit for the UK.”

Gregory Barker
Minister of State for Climate Change,

CNG Services Ltd (CSL) are at the forefront of providing renewable solutions for the transport sector and are featured on page 33 of the report, which highlighted CSL’s pioneering role in providing an “Organic Waste to Vehicle Fuel” network. The filling station is the largest of its kind in the UK and has the capacity to fill 500 dual-fuel HGVs with compressed natural gas (CNG). Benefits of CNG as a vehicle fuel are as follows:

• 15% reduction in tail-pipe CO2 emissions in comparison to diesel
• Cost of fuel is around 30% lower due to the widening gap between oil and gas prices
• Significant reduction in pollutants such as PM10s and NO

CSL is supporting a number of biomethane to grid projects in the UK where renewable gas produced from the anaerobic digestion of organic waste is upgraded and injected into the UK gas grid. This ‘green gas’ can be tracked using the Green Gas Certification Scheme and equivalent gas can be extracted and dispensed to trucks at Crewe. Crewe is the first station in a proposed network of CNG filling stations that will support the “Organic Waste to Vehicle Fuel” concept that enables vehicles to run on green gas.

The report also revealed that the anaerobic digestion and biomethane sector has a national turnover of £320 million and supports 2,650 jobs across the supply chain.

“Our CNG station in Crewe – which is the largest in the UK – is well placed to help hauliers in the North West reduce their carbon footprint and save money. Crewe is known as a railway town but it’s now also firmly on the map as the UK’s leading gas for trucks town.”

John Baldwin

1. CNG Services Ltd owns and operates a CNG filling station, just 5 miles from Junction
   16 of the M6. CSL is independent from equipment suppliers and provides an
   ‘owner’s engineer’ service including design, consultancy and project management in
   relation to CNG filling stations, biomethane injection to the gas grids and
   development of onshore gas projects.
2. The Renewable Energy Association represents renewable energy producers and promotes the use of all forms of renewable energy in the UK across power, heat, transport and renewable gas. It is the largest renewable trade association in the UK, with 960 members, ranging from major multinationals to sole traders. For more information, see: www.r-e-a.net
3. The Clean Energy Ministerial will take place at Lancaster House in London from 25th – 26th April 2012, with energy ministers from 22 countries will meet to discuss low carbon energy. For more information, see: http://www.cleanenergyministerial.org/events/cem3/index.html
4. The launch event will begin at 9:00 on 24th April at the headquarters of Renewable Energy Systems (RES), located in Kings Langley, Herts WD4 8LR, which is just off J20 of the M25 or 30 minutes out of London Euston by train. Energy Minister Greg Barker will join representatives from the REA, the report’s sponsors and other prominent public figures. RES will take attendees on a tour of the facility, taking in many of the technologies covered in the report.
5. The EU Renewable Energy Directive requires the UK to meet 15% of its overall energy demand from renewables by 2020. This includes a requirement to meet 10% of transport demand from renewable sources. The UK intends to meet the remainder of the target by meeting 12% of heat demand and 30% of electricity demand from renewables by 2020, according to DECC’s 2009 Renewable Energy Strategy
6. European Commission: ‘Towards a job-rich recovery,’ 18th April 2012. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=7619&langId=en