RenewableUK, the trade association for the UK's clean power industry, has responded to the Energy Secretary's decision to approve development of the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea. Chief Executive Tara Singh said the association does not take a position on individual oil and gas licensing decisions, but supports the North Sea and the people who work in it.

We reported earlier that the UK energy secretary faced North Sea industry pressure on Rosebank and Jackdaw: UK energy secretary faces North Sea industry pressure on Rosebank and Jackdaw.

Shared workforce

Singh said oil and gas will keep a role in the energy mix during the transition, and that the North Sea provides jobs and tax revenue while it does. She said many of the skills, capabilities and companies serving the UK oil and gas sector are also being used to build the clean power system. More than a third of RenewableUK members today support both sectors, she said.

The wind industry alone employs 55,000 people, Singh said, including former oil and gas workers. She said job numbers are set to double by the end of the decade.

Energy Wealth Fund

Singh called the Government's announcement of a new Energy Wealth Fund potentially an important part of the energy transition. RenewableUK is waiting to see the detail. She described offshore wind as a mature, cost-competitive technology, with new capacity secured through Contracts for Difference auctions. In her view the fund could further support UK supply chains and the next generation of technologies, including deepwater and floating offshore wind.

Prices and consumers

Oil and gas are traded on global markets, Singh said, so a development such as Jackdaw will support jobs and revenues but will not shield consumers from volatile prices. She said homegrown clean power can, because it cuts the amount of expensive gas the UK has to buy on international markets.

Renewables already provide more than half of UK electricity, she said, and the projects due to come online over the next few years will keep that going. Her closing message was to back today's North Sea while continuing to build tomorrow's energy system. She called for a move to clean power as swiftly as possible, plus faster electrification of homes, transport and industry.

The statement sits within wider UK policy debate over the North Sea and the energy transition.