Job retention in the British offshore sector through greening of the North Sea energy industry

• Published in: Energy policy 2011-03, Vol.39 (3), p.1543-1551
• Main Authors: Esteban, Miguel, Leary, David, Zhang, Qi, Utama, Agya, Tezuka, Tetsuo, Ishihara, Keiichi N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alternative energy; Applied sciences; Economic data; Economic impact; Economics; Electric energy; Electricity; Employment; Energy; Energy consumption; Energy economics; Energy industry; Energy policy; Exact sciences and technology; Fossil fuels and derived products; General, economic and professional studies; Industrial workers; Measurement; Natural energy; North Sea; Ocean energy; Ocean energy Offshore wind Oil industry; Offshore; Offshore drilling rigs; Offshore engineering; Offshore wind; Oil; Oil industry; oils; people; Petroleum industry; Power generation; Renewable energy sources; Studies; tides; United Kingdom; wind
• ISSN: 0301-4215; 1873-6777
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2010.12.028

For the case of the UK there are currently three ways of obtaining energy from sea areas, namely from wind, tides and waves. A methodology was developed to determine the future size of the offshore renewable industry based on the concept of employment factor, or the number of people required to maintain each unit of electricity production. An assessment was made of the decline in the number of people employed in oil related jobs in the North Sea and the gap that this could create in the UK's economy unless this pool of offshore expertise could find an alternative employment in the renewable sector. The paper will also investigate the effect of gradually transforming the UK's oil and gas sector into offshore renewables. If this was to happen by 2050 the UK offshore renewable industry could produce between 127 and 146TWh of electricity, equivalent to around 57–66% of the current energy consumption in the country. ► There are three possible sources of energy from sea areas in the UK: wind, tide and waves. ► As the number of jobs in the offshore oil industry reduces they should be compensated with jobs in the renewable offshore sector. ► By 2050 the UK offshore renewable industry could produce between 127 and 146TWh of electricity. ► This would represent around 57-66% of the current energy consumption in the UK.