Wind and wave power could generate up to £70bn for the UK economy, according to a new report from the Carbon Trust.

The report, which focuses on the economic benefit of new energy technologies, said that almost 250,000 jobs could be created by wind and wave power alone.

Part of the Trust’s Clean Tech Revolution campaign, the study concluded the UK could seize 45% of the global offshore wind market by 2020, delivering £65bn to the economy and 220,000 jobs by 2050. To do this will need at least £600m to be spent on research and development and new incentives to accelerate deployment of offshore wind power around British coasts.

The report also claimed that, with a quarter of the world's wave technologies being developed in the UK, the country could generate revenues worth £2bn a year from the market and up to 16,000 direct jobs.

Offshore wind and wave power can provide at least 15% of the total carbon savings required to meet the UK’s 2050 targets, it said.

Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust, said: “These technologies are not green 'nice to haves' but are critical to the economic recovery of the UK. To reap the significant rewards from their successful development we must prioritise and comprehensively back the technologies that offer the best chance of securing long term carbon savings, jobs and revenue for Britain.

The campaign is backed by businesses, investors, scientists and NGOs, including Northern Ireland’s own Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries.

Sales manager David McVeigh said the former shipbuilding giant has already recognised the opportunities in renewable energy.

He said: “Our investment in this sector has resulted in our busiest activity level for many years, building offshore wind farm foundations such as jackets, monopiles and gravity bases. We continue to invest in R&D, training, facilities and plant in order to take advantage of this escalating opportunity.

“In the UK, we have all the right ingredients; reliable wind, wave and tidal resource in reasonably shallow water, close to population centres that need energy. We also have the engineering know-how and the political desire to see it happen.”

He added: “There’s a great industrial base in Northern Ireland and I have no doubt there are some companies here who could take advantage of this, not just the big companies. From a business perspective somebody is going to do it so why not us.”

The Carbon Trust report comes just a week after a group of Northern Ireland business organisations, charities and NGOs launched their vision of a ‘Green New Deal’.

The group, which includes Friends of the Earth and the CBI NI, proposed measures to cut fossil fuels, improve home insulation, secure the energy supply and build a competitive low carbon economy. It estimated that 24,000 jobs could be created in the province if the government put its weight behind the green economy.