04 Jan 2011 11:01:00

Marine renewables 'could create over 5,000 south-west jobs'

More than 5,000 jobs could be generated from the marine renewables industry in the south-west, a new report has claimed.

Commissioned by the South-West Regional Development Agency (RDA), the report predicts the installation and ongoing maintenance of marine renewables in the region could support the employment of 5,750 people by 2030.

Some £4.8 billion will also be added to the economy from such development, largely from the deployment of offshore wind turbines, with "substantial contributions" also coming from wave and tidal projects.

However, it warned that for the benefits in the Offshore Renewables Resource and Development report to be seen, significant investment will be needed.

Claire Gibson, director of sustainable resources at the South-West RDA, which will close in March 2010, said: "Hopefully this mantle will be taken up by successor agencies in the future and our commitment to renewable energy in the south-west continued."

In November, the South-West RDA announced the world's largest test site for wave energy technology had opened on the coast of Cornwall.