Scotland’s energy efficiency industry has told the Scottish government that it could create 9,000 jobs by establishing a “clear direction of travel” through updated energy strategies.
In an open letter addressed to Keith Brown, the cabinet secretary for the economy, jobs and fair work, a group of more than 20 companies operating in the energy efficiency sector called for greater policy certainty to help support its industry.
“With policy certainty about the government’s ambitions for tackling fuel poverty and climate change we hope to be able to grow our businesses, supporting Scotland’s wider economic ambitions,” the letter states.
It is signed by directors of major efficiency companies with offices in Scotland including Kingspan Insulation, Keepmoat Regeneration, Energywise, Emtec and Saint Gobain, all of whom back the message that “now is the time” for Scotland to be ambitious over energy efficiency.
It points to the statistic that more than half of Scotland’s energy usage originates from building heating, but just 5% of heat currently comes from renewable sources.
“Setting an ambition for the scale of this market would go a long way to driving industry investment, growth and innovation, just as the Scottish Government’s renewable electricity targets have done,” the letter adds.
It goes on to suggest that a long-term infrastructure approach could create 9,000 additional jobs, and requests specifically that Scotland adopt a motion put forward by the Scottish Fuel Poverty Strategic Working Group that all homes in Scotland are helped to attain an EPC ‘C’ rating by 2025.
Scotland has however beaten the rest of the UK to adopting Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) for non-domestic properties having introduced them in September this year, nearly 18 months before they are due to be introduced in England and Wales on 1 April 2018.
