Half of UK businesses use or plan to use renewable energy
This is one of the key findings of a new survey commissioned by InvestinCornwall, the newly launched inward investment service.
The poll of 523 UK adults working at board level or above also found that UK business leaders believe Britain’s growing renewable energy sector is more important than both the financial and retail sectors for the UK’s long-term economic success and that Britain has the potential to be a global centre of excellence in renewables.
However, the survey threw up concerns over costs and political commitment to the sector with the majority of respondents calling on the Government to increase investment in the sector and voicing skepticism about all the talk and promises on renewable energy and green jobs during the general election.
Moreover, a significant minority of those surveyed said they still needed to be convinced of the seriousness of the sector and the concept of a low carbon economy.
When asked about their own use of renewable energy, 48 per cent of those polled said they used, or were considering using, one or more forms of renewable energy, while 50 per cent said they used, or planned to use, energy performance measures to reduce their reliance on traditional power sources.
Cost barrier to using renewable energy
However, three quarters (76 per cent) of respondents highlighted cost as a barrier to using renewable energy, while 38 per cent cited lack of incentives.
A third (34 per cent) of the business leaders surveyed also said they thought Britain has a significant role to play in the development of a global low carbon economy. However, to achieve this, the majority of respondents (67 per cent) called on the new Government to increase investment levels in renewable energy.
Despite business enthusiasm for renewable energy, more than two-thirds (69 per cent) felt that politicians in the main parties only use the concept of renewable energy for political gain, while 22 per cent felt the low carbon economy was just seen as a tax raising opportunity. Almost 20 per cent, meanwhile, felt the term ‘low carbon economy’ itself was just another business buzz phrase.
Investment levels in renewable energy expected to increase
As well as surveying business leaders, InvestinCornwall also conducteda snapshot survey of venture capitalists, bankers and other investorsworking in the renewable energy sector to gauge their opinions oninvestment levels in the sector. The results showed that more thantwo-thirds (69 per cent) expected investment levels in the sector toincrease a little or substantially over the coming six months, whileonly 13 per cent anticipate a fall in investment.
Commenting on the findings, Lucy Hunt, manager for InvestinCornwall, said: “Despite rapid growth the renewable sector has stood in the shadow of other industries for many years. But this report marks a major change in attitudes to the sector and demonstrates its importance.
“With a groundswell of support from the business and investment community we hope the new Government will seize the opportunity and follow Cornwall’s lead in backing the renewable energy sector. We all need to engage with businesses and the general public to turn the political rhetoric surrounding Britain’s low carbon economy into a reality.”
InvestinCornwall is a project funded by the Convergence European Regional Development Fund and Cornwall Council and promotes Cornwall to the world with the aim of achieving sustainable prosperity for the county.
Last year, the Government designated the South West as the country’s first ‘Low Carbon Economic Area’, saying it would invest a total of £19.5 million into a two-year £100 million programme to turn the region into a leading centre for marine energy technologies.