RenewableUK, the trade body for the renewable energy industry in the UK, has published a report that demonstrates how Britain's growing wave, wind and tidal energy sectors are successfully exporting services and goods on a massive global scale. The findings demonstrate the importance of these clean energy technologies and the potential gains for Britain if the government shows strong support for their development.

Britain is already well known for its capabilities in wave, wind and tidal power technology. Existing onshore wind capacity stands at nearly 10GW, and offshore operations are at 5GW. British wave and tidal energy developments are still in their early stages but are still further ahead than most other countries. Some experts have already suggested that these energy streams could provide up to a fifth of the country's total electricity requirements.

The findings are published in 'Export Nation: A Year in UK Wind, Wave and Tidal Exports'. RenewableUK sampled 36 British firms last year and found they had won over 500 global contracts to deliver clean energy projects in 43 international destinations across Asia, Africa, the Americas, Australasia and Europe. These projects ranged in value from £50,000 to £30 million.

In order of export value, the ten biggest destinations for UK wind and marine energy firms were Germany, USA, Denmark, Ireland, Australia, Canada, Sweden, France, Singapore, and Taiwan.

The contracts flagged up in the sample were also noteworthy for covering a vast array of service and goods. These included the supply and maintenance of wind turbines and operational parts, the installation of these turbines and underwater cabling, provision of helicopters, offshore wind-farm inspection services, provision of crew and vessels, the development of wave and tidal projects and technologies themselves and the provision of marine energy industry components.