This release includes annual estimates of low carbon and renewable energy economy activity in the UK and constituent countries: turnover, employment, exports, imports, acquisitions, disposals and number of businesses.

Annual estimates of Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy (LCREE) direct, indirect, and total turnover and employment in the UK, by sector and group. These are official statistics in development.

Experimental estimates of turnover and employment in the Low carbon and renewable energy economy (LCREE) in the UK, its constituent countries and regions of England using data from the LCREE Survey and the Inter-Departmental Business Register.

The turnover from the United Kingdom's Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy (LCREE) increased ** percent between 2015 and 2022, to **** billion GBP. The UK's low carbon electricity segment generated the most turnover in 2022, at ** billion GBP. Meanwhile, turnover from low emission vehicles and infrastructure more than doubled between 2015 and 2022, to just under ** billion GBP.

The dataset contains the micro data used to produce the published Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy Survey (LCREE) 2019 estimates. It also includes revised data for turnover, employment, import, exports and investment for periods 2015 - 2020 data.

The LCREE Survey samples approximately 24,000 UK businesses using the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) as the sampling frame. All businesses with 250 or more employees are selected, together with a random sample of businesses from each of the other strata, defined by two-digit SIC 2007 industry, country, and employment size-band. The sample is supplemented with a small number of businesses that are known to be highly active in one or more of the LCREE sectors but do not have large enough employment to be selected as part of the census strata. These businesses are allocated to a reference list.

Questionnaires are sent to the selected businesses. Respondents are asked if the business operates in any of the 17 LCREE sectors. Respondents are then asked to report the turnover, imports, exports, employment, and capital assets for any of the LCREE sectors they have operated in during the reference period.

There were approximately *** thousand full-time equivalent jobs in the UK's Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy (LCREE) in 2022. Around ** percent of LCREE jobs were in the energy efficient products subsector. Meanwhile, the UK's low carbon electricity sector employed around ** thousand people, with the nuclear power and offshore wind subsectors the biggest employers within this segment.

The Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy Survey (LCRES) is an annual survey designed to collect information from businesses working within the green economy, including low carbon and renewable energy activities. UK government departments and devolved administrations will use this information to assess and develop policies relating to green job creation, potential growth and investment opportunities both nationally and regionally. The LCRES was conducted for the first time in 2015, for the reporting year 2014. Continuity between the first and second year of the survey was ensured with minimal changes made to the questionnaire in the second year.

The survey provides a number of high-level indicators of Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy (LCREE) activity such as turnover, number of businesses, imports, exports, employees and capital assets. Results from the LCRES can be used to show business activity in 17 specific sectors which can be aggregated into 6 LCREE groups.

All businesses with an employment of 250 or above are selected, together with a random sample of businesses from each of the other strata, defined by 2-digit SIC 2007 industry classification, country and employment size-band. Businesses that are randomly sampled are generally expected to remain in the sample for 2 years.

Further information about the LCRES is available on the ONS web pages.

Linking to other business studies
These data contain Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) reference numbers. These are anonymous but unique reference numbers assigned to business organisations. Their inclusion allows researchers to combine different business survey sources together. Researchers may consider applying for other business data to assist their research.

For Secure Lab projects applying for access to this study as well as to SN 6697 Business Structure Database and/or SN 7683 Business Structure Database Longitudinal, only postcode-free versions of the data will be made available.

Latest Edition Information

For the tenth edition (September 2025), the 2020, 2021and 2022 Output Areas data have been updated, along with the Excel data dictionaries file covering 2018-2020.

Detailed estimates of low carbon and renewable energy economy total activity in the UK, by country, renewables group and overall group activity.

The turnover from the United Kingdom's Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy (LCREE) was estimated at **** billion GBP in 2022. The UK's low carbon electricity segment, which includes offshore and onshore wind, solar, and nuclear power, accounted for roughly ** percent of this total. The second-largest contributor to UK LCREE turnover in 2022 was energy efficient products.

Turnover from the United Kingdom's Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy (LCREE) was estimated at **** billion GBP in 2022. The biggest overall contributor to this total was the energy efficient products segment, with almost ** billion GDP. Within the low carbon electricity segment, offshore and onshore wind generated the most turnover, at approximately **** and *** billion GBP, respectively.

Annual multipliers used to estimate low carbon and renewable energy economy total activity in the UK and constituent countries by energy groups and sectors.

There were approximately *** thousand full-time equivalent jobs in the UK's Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy (LCREE) in 2022. This figure has grown by ** percent since 2015. *** thousand of these LCREE jobs were in the energy efficiency products segment. Additionally, there were just over ****** jobs in the low emission vehicles and infrastructure segment in 2022, a near threefold increase from 2015 figures.

Low-carbon energy is defined as renewable energy (wind, wave, solar and geothermal), plus hydro and nuclear.