Up to 18,000 UK solar jobs may have evaporated in the last 12 months due to savage solar subsidy cuts.
18,000 jobs would represent around half of the total employment in the UK solar sector, reports Edie.net.
The nation’s solar boom saw around 10GW of solar power installed before the rug was pulled out from under it. That’s nearly double Australia’s solar capacity and enough to power more than three million British homes.
The solar feed-in tariff that helped support the “seismic” uptake was slashed by 65%; even though the government was warned the outcome would be what is happening now.
The bust that followed the boom has been catastrophic. Installations of residential solar power systems under the feed-in tariff program have dropped 80% compared to last year.
Last month, the Solar Trade Association launched an online survey in association with PwC in an effort to better determine the scale of the impact.
“Solar has had the great majority of its support removed very rapidly in the UK, and just when it had parity with fossil fuels within sight,” said STA Head of External Affairs, Leonie Greene.
“A comprehensive survey is essential for an informed discussion with Government and Parliament and there will be strong interest in how the industry is faring.”
While the solar industry licks its wounds, the fruits of its labor are becoming apparent.
According to an analysis by Carbon Brief, solar generated an estimated 1,336 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity in May, 50% more than the 893GWh output from coal.
It’s a bittersweet achievement for those solar installers now out of work.
In November last year, the UK Government announced plans to shutter all coal-fired power stations by 2025 and restrict their use by 2023; a job that may be a little bit harder while the solar sector languishes.
However, there may be no real incentive to address the industry’s woes as wind power could fill the gap. According to RenewableUK, wind power was already supplying 11% of the nation’s electricity in 2015; enough electricity to meet the annual needs of more 8 million homes.
But there’s not just renewable energy and emissions targets to consider – 18,000 people out of work can translate to significant and costly social problems.
