Abstract
We analyse the economic impacts resulting from the development of the offshore renewable energy industry for the UK economy in the period up to 2020. Given this time frame only Offshore Wind and Tidal technologies are the focus of this report.
The economic impact on the UK is estimated using Input-Output (IO) models. The IO approach is a commonly used multi-sectoral, general equilibrium modelling approach to assessing economic impact. Input–output (IO) analysis (Leontief, 1941; Miller and Blair, 2009) continues to be the most widely employed method of assessing the impact of major new expenditures on regional and national economies in general, and the impacts of expenditures in establishing renewable energy capacity in particular (Arthur D. Little Ltd, 2005; O’Herlihy and Co. Ltd, 2006; Flynn and Carey, 2007; Lehr et al., 2008; Cebr, 2012).
The results shown in this report are based on expenditures estimated by BVG associates that reflect the best current assessment of the likely development of the UK offshore wind and tidal industries.