November 5, 2025
Wood heat, economic growth, and why biomass boilers create more jobs than heat pumps
Wood heating is a serious driver of economic growth. Among renewable heating technology, it is the most prolific job creator, not to mention source of revenue for government. Aside from the obvious environmental reasons to support it, the economic stimulation should encourage the state to offer meaningful support to businesses for wood heating installation.
Wood heat and job creation
One wood heat boiler creates 7-10 jobs on average.
Someone needs to install that boiler, which will also need annual maintenance and occasional repairs and replacement parts. The boiler also needs fuel, which someone needs to transport and to deliver, after the wood pellets are pressed from the waste wood from the sustainable timber industry. The timber industry itself gets greater revenue from its product than it would otherwise, since the 30-40% of unusable wood becomes a product in itself, rather than waste. That can help to fund business expansion, and investment in forestry management.
Just in 2023, the wood heating industry created over 20,000 jobs, and added £2.8bn to the UK economy.
Other renewable technology, like heat pumps, don’t create anything like as many jobs. Once a heat pump is installed, the continuing value chain is extremely limited. There will be some maintenance required, but it is a relatively isolated system that does not create or sustain the kind of sophisticated series of interdependent services and professions that wood heat generates.
Businesses with wood heating can grow more
If a business uses wood fuel instead of fossil fuel, then it enjoys significant savings in the cost of running its heating. Those saving are then available to reinvest in the business, creating jobs through growth and by spending with other businesses.
It will also benefit from the growth that comes from improving environmental credentials. Good ESG scores can make a business more attractive to investors and business customers, and also to consumers, who are increasingly conscious of the impact of their purchases.
Of course, business growth also means job creation.
Supporting wood heating would be a net positive for the public purse
If the government were to support the installation of new wood heating systems, perhaps by offering grants to businesses who wanted to buy the boilers, then it would be a significant investment, but one with a significant return.
In the first place, all the created jobs, services, and the business growth mean additional corporation tax, income tax, and VAT revenue. Job creation means more consumer spending (and more VAT), and less strain on the public purse as more people are in work.
Yes, there would be up front expenditure in providing grants to decarbonise business heat, but it would not only pay for itself, but represent a positive return for the exchequer.
Innasol are calling on the government to build on schemes like the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (NDRHI), which was a shot in the arm for rural and local jobs across several separate but related and complementary sectors.
If your business is thinking about decarbonisation, and needs some clarity on the systems and technology that you will need in order to transition away from fossil fuels, our Guide to Green Business Energy will help to unpack which solutions make sense for you.
For any questions about renewable heat and power, including biomass heating and solar PV, call 01621 892613, and our team of renewables experts can offer some no-obligation advice.
