Turnover reached £44.5bn in 2017, figures suggest, compared to £41.7bn for 2016.

Green businesses ranging from offshore wind and renewable heat to electric cars and charging infrastructure employed the equivalent of 209,500 full-time employees in 2017 – the latest year for which figures are available.

Overall, companies working in energy efficiency, including lighting and other products, as well as energy saving, monitoring and control systems, accounted for half the green sector’s turnover and two-thirds of its jobs.

Offshore wind turnover increased by almost 36 per cent as the rollout of wind farms off the UK’s coasts continued.

In July 2018, the Government pledged £557m to double the UK’s offshore wind over the next decade as the cost of electricity supplied by the facilities falls to record lows. 

However, onshore wind saw a drop of 15 per cent and the solar power sector also saw a fall in turnover and the number of jobs, which is likely to be partly due to cuts in Government subsidies, the report said.

Exports of clean technology and products were up, from £3.8bn in 2016 to £5bn in 2017, with the increase largely due to growth in low-emission vehicles and offshore wind exports.

The UK’s low-carbon and renewable energy sector continues to account for around 1 per cent of total UK non-financial turnover and employment, the survey of businesses in the sector suggests.

Lawrence Slade, chief executive of industry body Energy UK, said: “With over half of the UK’s electricity now generated by low-carbon sources, these figures underline how the energy sector has been successful in driving decarbonisation and creating jobs, boosting economic growth and slashing emissions in the process.

“The UK has been a world leader in cutting emissions and decarbonising our economy. However, we must go further and faster if we are to meet our climate change targets and therefore we must be able to fully realise the benefits from lowest-cost renewables, including onshore wind and solar.”

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said: “The UK has reduced emissions faster than any other G7 nation while growing our economy.

“Moving to a greener, cleaner economy is at the heart of our modern Industrial Strategy and today’s figures show our clean energy sector is driving growth in local economies and creating hundreds of thousands of quality jobs to boost earning power.”

Turnover reached £44.5bn in 2017, figures suggest, compared to £41.7bn for 2016.

Green businesses ranging from offshore wind and renewable heat to electric cars and charging infrastructure employed the equivalent of 209,500 full-time employees in 2017 – the latest year for which figures are available.

Overall, companies working in energy efficiency, including lighting and other products, as well as energy saving, monitoring and control systems, accounted for half the green sector’s turnover and two-thirds of its jobs.

Offshore wind turnover increased by almost 36 per cent as the rollout of wind farms off the UK’s coasts continued.

In July 2018, the Government pledged £557m to double the UK’s offshore wind over the next decade as the cost of electricity supplied by the facilities falls to record lows. 

However, onshore wind saw a drop of 15 per cent and the solar power sector also saw a fall in turnover and the number of jobs, which is likely to be partly due to cuts in Government subsidies, the report said.

Exports of clean technology and products were up, from £3.8bn in 2016 to £5bn in 2017, with the increase largely due to growth in low-emission vehicles and offshore wind exports.

The UK’s low-carbon and renewable energy sector continues to account for around 1 per cent of total UK non-financial turnover and employment, the survey of businesses in the sector suggests.

Lawrence Slade, chief executive of industry body Energy UK, said: “With over half of the UK’s electricity now generated by low-carbon sources, these figures underline how the energy sector has been successful in driving decarbonisation and creating jobs, boosting economic growth and slashing emissions in the process.

“The UK has been a world leader in cutting emissions and decarbonising our economy. However, we must go further and faster if we are to meet our climate change targets and therefore we must be able to fully realise the benefits from lowest-cost renewables, including onshore wind and solar.”

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said: “The UK has reduced emissions faster than any other G7 nation while growing our economy.

“Moving to a greener, cleaner economy is at the heart of our modern Industrial Strategy and today’s figures show our clean energy sector is driving growth in local economies and creating hundreds of thousands of quality jobs to boost earning power.”