Solar job cuts forecasted

17 February 2012

Solar industry questions ministerial assertion that sector will expand this year, after impact assessment predicts job cuts and market contraction.

A triple whammy of cuts to the feed-in tariff for solar PV installations will see the industry shrink by a third in 2012, despite an assertion by Climate Change Minister Greg Barker that the sector will continue to expand.

That is the conclusion of the Department of Energy and Climate Change's (DECC's) own impact assessment, which was released yesterday alongside the controversial consultation that raises the prospect of incentives being cut in April, July and October this year.

The eight-week consultation proposes cutting the tariff for installations with less than 4kW to 21p/kWh from April, before reducing it again to between 16.5p/kWh and 13.6p/kWh in July, and then cutting again to between 15.7p/kWh and 12.9p/kWh in October, depending on rates of installation.