UK could create 26,000 green jobs by 2030

The development of hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS), and the electrification of offshore platforms is expected to create between 8,000 and 26,000 new jobs in the UK by the end of the decade, depending on investment levels, Offshore Energies UK reported on July 11, citing a study it had commissioned from the Robert Gordon University's (RGU)'s Energy Transition Institute.

The UK government aims to build up the nation's CCS capacity to 30mn metric tons/year by 2030, and also produce 10,000 MW of hydrogen and run 11 offshore oil and gas platforms on low-carbon electricity. 

OEUK commissioned the research from RGU as part of the North Sea Transition Deal (NSTD), a 2021 agreement struck between offshore industry and Whitehall aimed at providing support for the offshore industry to enable it to decarbonise and invest in clean energy.

Achieving the deal's aims would mean over £14bn of investment by 2030. And a further development of CCS could support as many as 50,000 jobs by that year.

OEUK revealed the findings on the same day that the UK House of Commons passed its bill to impose a 25% windfall tax on North Sea profits. The industry has warned that the move will sap investment, both in domestic oil and gas supply and low-carbon technologies.

RGU's research is indicative of a best-case scenario in which the UK energy security strategy, announced by Whitehall in April, is delivered in full.

Katy Heidenreich, OEUK's director of supply chain and operations, said: "This study shows that the offshore energy workforce in the UK is at the heart of the energy transition. The North Sea Transition Deal has the potential to harness the expertise of our oil and gas workforce to realise the cleaner energies that will help reach our climate goals. However, the new Energy Profits Levy proposed by the UK government does threaten to undermine this."