To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefit of onshore wind.

As a mature, affordable, low carbon technology, using a limitless and indigenous fuel, onshore wind has an important role to play in providing the diverse and secure mix of energy we need to support our economy, and to help protect consumers from the price volatility arising from an overdependence on fossil fuels

Onshore wind brings substantial new economic benefits and job opportunities to the country as a whole and at a local level. A recent report for DECC and RenewableUK produced by BiGGAR Economics⁽¹⁾ shows that in 2011 onshore wind supported around 8,600 jobs and was worth £548 million to the UK economy. Of this, around 1,100 jobs and £84 million investment occur at the local authority level. If onshore wind is deployed at the central scale set out in Government's Renewable Energy Roadmap (i.e. 13 GW ), the economy could benefit to the tune of £0.78 billion by 2020, supporting around 11,600 direct and supply chain jobs (rising to around 15,500 total jobs if wider quantifiable impacts are taken into account).

In addition, information collated by DECC from published industry announcements suggests that for the period 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 there was over £1.6 billion investment in onshore wind, supporting around 1800 jobs.

⁽¹⁾ ‘Onshore wind—direct and wider economic impacts’ (May 2012) by BiGGAR Economics—see:

http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/wind/onshore/benefits_wind/benefts_wind.aspx

The findings of the report are based on 18 case studies of experience on the ground, and set out the gross impacts of commercial onshore wind development.