Solar Industry Job Losses

Solar industry warns that more job losses are inevitable after the UK government cuts subsidies

Already four firms have folded and over a thousand jobs have been lost as the UK solar sector braces for an unforgiving winter.

Zep Solar is the most recent firm to fold in the UK, and it lays the blame squarely on the government’s decision to cut the Feed-In Tariff by an unexpected 87%. A spokesperson explained that the company, which was owned by Elon Musk, “had been exploring opportunities in the UK but based on the DECC [Department of Energy and Climate Change] decision we’re left to conclude that the UK government doesn’t support solar development. We’ve put expansion plans to the UK on hold indefinitely and will focus efforts elsewhere.”

Before Zep Solar went into liquidation, so too did Southern Solar, Mark Group and Climate Energy, causing roughly 1,000 employees to lose their jobs. And the Solar Trade Association says that 27,000 further jobs are at risk out of a total of 35,000.

Three key government schemes have been axed, slashed or dramatically shortened since the May general election, leaving solar panel companies feeling as though the rug has been pulled from beneath them. The most damaging was the 87% slashing of the Feed-In Tariff, but the government also ended its support for the ‘green deal’ which incentivised insulation, as well as announcing the early closure of the Renewable Obligation scheme for larger solar panel installations. Ashley Seager, director of Sun4Net, says that “the UK has completely turned its back on renewable energy; the sector is falling apart.”

The extent of the attacks on solar panels and green energy more broadly has led Jonathan Selwyn, director of Lark Energy, to argue that the government’s antipathy to renewable energy is driven by an extreme ideology held by a government that is skeptical about climate change. David Cameron, the UK prime minister, infamously views renewable energy policies as “green crap” but also promised voters that this would be the “greenest-ever government”.

The government has defended its cuts by saying that it needs to do everything in its power to reduce the average energy bill — solar subsidies add £9 to the average annual energy bill for a typical homeowner.

Yet at the same time, the British government and even the monarchy have been meeting with the Chinese government searching for massive investment in the controversial and ever-delayed Hinkley Point nuclear station. Hinkley Point’s guaranteed price of £92.50 per megawatt of electricity makes it more expensive than rooftop solar, onshore wind, and twice the current wholesale price of electricity.

Undoubtedly the £18bn nuclear plant will mean higher bills for consumers — and does not look like the actions of a government that is seriously committed to either reducing energy bills or protecting UK jobs.

Author Bio: Clive Rolison founded Complete Renewables to help homeowners and businesses to cut costs and prevent climate change by installing renewable energy technologies. He specialises in PV solar panels, but also installs air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps and more in the Southeast of England.