It’s official: Net zero is strengthening the UK economy
For years, we've said that net zero is not just good for the environment but also for the economy. Now, it’s official.
A new report from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), commissioned by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, reveals that the UK’s net zero sector is growing three times faster than the economy as a whole, creating well-paying jobs nationwide and outperforming industries such as farming, advertising, and market research.
Last year alone, net zero efforts contributed £83 billion to the UK economy, with businesses in the sector now supporting nearly a million full-time jobs offering salaries averaging £43,000 per year. That’s more than £5,500 above the national average.
As Chancellor Rachel Reeves stated in January: "There is no trade-off between economic growth and net zero. Quite the opposite. Net zero is the industrial opportunity of the 21st century."
How net zero is driving UK growth
Net zero is not just a necessity for our environmental and economic security—it is a major opportunity for job creation and investment. Here are some of the ways we’re making it happen through community energy, battery storage, innovation, and flexibility.
Empowering communities with new energy projects
We’re currently piloting the UK’s first Energy Sharing Community, an innovative model that encourages public buildings and businesses—including schools, hospitals, churches, and supermarkets—to install solar panels on their unused roofs. These buildings can then generate their own energy and sell surplus power to local communities at affordable rates. If scaled nationwide, this initiative could create thousands of jobs in installation and manufacturing.
In partnership with the Football Association, we are also investing in green energy upgrades for grassroots football clubs through the Greener Game. By installing solar panels, batteries, and other energy upgrades, we are reducing costs for clubs and allowing them to reinvest in sport for local communities. As evidence shows, strong communities mean a strong economy.
Scaling up battery storage
Beyond traditional renewables like wind power, we are expanding investment in large-scale energy storage, which is critical for a reliable and flexible energy system.
For example, we are funding two 230-megawatt battery storage facilities at the former Uskmouth coal-fired power station in Newport, South Wales, revitalising a historic energy hub with a clean alternative to fossil fuels. We are also working with climate finance firms such as Seagrass to drive further investment in storage solutions.
On a smaller but no less significant scale, we are supporting supply chains and creating work for installers across the UK by providing solar panels, batteries, and home energy upgrades—both commercially and through the Government’s ECO4 scheme. In Coventry, we are also piloting a scheme to install domestic batteries at no upfront cost, helping financially vulnerable households cut energy bills. The result: More financially secure families, greater consumer confidence, and a stronger economy.
Innovation and infrastructure
We are continually seeking new ways to accelerate the energy transition, and some of our recent and upcoming projects include:
- Expanded district heating networks as part of Citigen London
- The UK’s largest solar project at the Port of Liverpool, in partnership with Peel Group. This initiative will see 63,000 solar panels installed—covering an area equivalent to 18 football pitches.
As these projects grow, they will create thousands of jobs and in some cases potentially spark entirely new industries within the net zero sector.
Building a more flexible energy system
An important part of building a thriving economy is finding the best and most efficient ways to use the resources we have.
By building more flexibility into the energy system, we’re helping make the most of today's energy through infrastructure, domestic upgrades that allow customers to generate, store, and sell power, and new products like the E.ON Next Smart Saver Tariff – a first-of-its-kind mass market Time-of-Use tariff offering different unit rates for peak, off-peak, and super off-peak times.
However, we’re also making new energy work for tomorrow: More flexibility in the system means better responsiveness to supply and demand, which in turn means existing renewables are better value and creates more incentive to build new ones. This virtuous circle leads to greater investment, more jobs, and cheaper energy for UK economy.
Looking ahead: Renewable growth in 2025
The CBI’s report found that jobs created by net zero are not just concentrated in London and a few major cities but distributed around the whole country, while on the global stage renewable energy is generating value at an enormous scale. In China, for instance, 10% of GDP in 2024 was created through clean energy – that’s more than $1 trillion.
To keep up this momentum, we must and will continue to invest in net zero, and by extension in the UK’s future prosperity. “2025 is the year when the rubber really hits the road, where inaction is indisputably costlier than action,” the CBI’s chief economist, Louise Hellem, was quoted as saying in an article in the Guardian.
The challenge is clear. The opportunity is vast. And we are committed to making new energy work for the UK.