Increase in feed-in tariffs for solar could create 30,000 jobs

The network – 'We Support Solar’ – has launched the ‘Small Change, Big Difference’ campaign, calling for more commitment from the Government towards solar power.

The campaign is backed by construction industry organisations that represent 16,000 building companies – The Federation of Master Builders (FMB), National Federation of Roofing Contractors and Electrical Contractors Association.

It is calling on the Government to place an extra 10 pence per kilowatt hour on feed-in tariffs for solar power. The campaign says such a move would create 30,000 new jobs in solar manufacturing, design, installation and servicing by 2014, helping to turn around the ailing fortunes of the UK construction industry. According to the FMB, the construction industry is expected to lose 319,000 jobs by 2010.

The campaign claims are based on modeling by the UK Photovoltaic Manufacturers Association (UKPV) and backed by environmental organisations, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, that shows that such a move would drive demand for 400,000 new solar photovoltaic installations on homes by 2014.

The modeling by the UKPV also suggests that the extra 10 pence on the starting tariff numbers from April 2010 would deliver well over six times the Government’s target for solar, and begin to come close to the more ambitious targets set by the rest of Europe.

The Government’s proposals for solar power, as they stand, are expected to deliver around 0.5 per cent of UK electricity demand by 2020, with much of this demand coming post 2014.

Under these proposals, in 2010 the UK will continue to fall further behind countries such as Belgium and the Czech Republic, where the solar power installation rate is already 10 times that of the UK.

The campaign states “there is a huge opportunity to change the face of British industry with solar energy [...] The cash back scheme, as it is proposed, is a missed opportunity.”