BWEA study predicts 200,000 jobs in wind

LONDON, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- British plans to build 20,000 wind turbines could create 200,000 jobs, a new study says.

The British government plan to increase both on and offshore wind is part of the plan to meet ambitious EU climate change targets, the Daily Mail reported.

According to a recent study by the British Wind Energy Association, during the next 12 years a construction revolution will more than double the size of the wind energy sector. Right now there are about 20,000 jobs involved in the wind industry in Britain.

Under new European Commission proposals, Britain is required to increase its proportion of energy production from renewable sources from 1.3 percent of the total in 2005 to 15 percent in 2020 -- the equivalent of building a further 20,000 wind turbines. A boom in the wind farm industry could create a multibillion-dollar renewable energy market, Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks said.

"I want the U.K. to become a world leader in this market," he said. "I am optimistic that there will be huge opportunities for us as we become a low-carbon economy."