Solar News

Tuesday 13 January 2009

Solarcentury says that rapid growth in the solar industry could facilitate thousands of jobs

The head of solar panel firm Solarcentury has called on the government to act quickly to support the solar power industry if it wants to create "hundreds of thousands" of jobs in the sector.

Speaking at the Prime Minister's Jobs Summit held in London yesterday, Solarcentury executive chairman Jeremy Leggett said that the global financial crisis should not stand in the way of a Green New Deal, and that there is likely to be a "bonanza" on UK renewable energy.

He said: "We have a substantial opportunity to work with the grain when it comes to the Green New Deal. With the right policies, solar and other industries can create hundreds of thousands of jobs surprisingly quickly, not in the distant future, but now."

The company said yesterday that the industry needs "clear and consistent support" to facilitate jobs in an industry that it claims could provide more electricity per year than the proposed Severn Tidal Barrage and quicker.

Potential

Mr Leggett continued: "Britain could be on the brink of a bonanza in new renewable energy, particularly skilled solar photovoltaic and solar thermal jobs. Britain has already developed an industry in solar photovoltaic design and building integrated solutions, with massive export potential.

"With rapid action and the right policy framework including the Government's proposed feed-in tariff, we can build on that solid start and create tens of thousands of new jobs starting now," the Solarcentury boss added. "There is no reason why we cannot match and then exceed the rapid jobs growth seen in the German solar photovoltaics sector, where 25,000 new jobs were created between 2004 and 2007 alone."

Environmental group Friends of the Earth said that the Prime Minister must use the summit to set out a highly ambitious strategy to instigate a green revolution, which the campaigners said would tackle climate change and the recession simultaneously.

Friends of the Earth's executive director Andy Atkins said: "We need a green industrial revolution that gets to the very heart of issue - not just another round of eco-tinkering at the margin.

"Investing in an ambitious public investment programme to boost renewable energy and cut energy waste could generate hundreds of thousands of jobs, create exciting new business opportunities and reduce our dependency on increasingly unreliable sources of fossil fuels. It's time to invest in a clean, safe and prosperous future for us all," he added.

"Leadership"

However London-based Solarcentury yesterday praised the government's "clear leadership" on solar through the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, which provided grants for renewable energy systems for schools, social housing and public buildings.

But the programme ends in June this year and recent press reports have highlighted a potential gap in government support for renewable energy as a result.

Mr Leggett told the summit that that Solarcentury were "working closely" with the government to address the funding gap issue.

"Number Ten and ministers are well aware of the threat this poses to the fledgling UK solar industry at a time when we should be investing with confidence in preparation for the feed-in tariff," he said. "We are confident that Secretary of State Miliband and his team will resolve this issue positively and quickly."