Thousands of green collar jobs to be created, expert says
The UK will see the creation of thousands of green collar jobs over the coming years, it has been claimed.
According to Maria McCaffery, chief executive of the British Wind and Energy Association, government investment and deals - such as one agreed recently with Mitsubishi - will lead to the opening of around 70,000 jobs in total.
Recently, the Labour administration signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe.
Under the terms of the agreement, up to £100 million will be invested by the firm in a wind turbine research and development project.
Ms McCaffery suggested such moves signal the "rebirth" of UK manufacturing.
She added: "The combined contribution from both on and offshore wind is set to contribute up to half of the UK's domestic electricity requirement by 2020."
This will significantly reduce the country's dependency on imported fossil fuels and will displace millions of tonnes of CO2 each year, she added.
Posted by Helen Evans
1 Mar 2010 11:24am