Some 16 percent of small-business owners in the south west of England say their companies are adopting solar heating, and 11 percent said the same for wind turbines.

The report, launched as part of Cornwall’s 2007 Business Week, found lesser-know technologies, such as photo voltaic cells or ground source heat pumps are also being investigated by tens of thousands of UK SMEs.

Lucy Thom, Inward Investment Manager for Cornwall Pure Business, said: “The renewable energy sector is already worth approximately £34 million to the regional economy. In the South West, it is estimated the sector will support between 14,000 and 17,000 full time employees by 2020.”

While 73 percent of managers surveyed agreed that it is important for businesses to be more environmentally sustainable, 72 percent perceived cost as a barrier to adopting green technologies. Some 45 percent also cited planning as an obstacle.

Source – press release.

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