Solarcentury has almost doubled its solar photovoltaics installer network since the beginning of 2010. The solar installation company says that since the feed-in tariff (FiT) was established on April 1st, there has been a notable increase in the availability of ‘green’ jobs in the country.
Total UK staff numbers across the Solarcentury associate network have risen from 200 in January 2010 to over 350, with most associate companies confident of further jobs growth of up to 50% for the remainder of this year with well over 500 jobs by 2011.
This increase in installer job availability has risen to match the UK government’s prediction for installed solar capacity. Forecasts suggest that the annual PV market will grow over the next two years from 5MWp installed in 2009 to 140MWp in 2012. The total UK PV market is forecast by government to rise nearly 100 times to reach 2.7GWp, cumulative, by 2020.
Seb Berry Head of Public Affairs for Solarcentury said, “These very encouraging job numbers show that the new feed-in tariff is already delivering rapid growth in new solar PV jobs in the UK. The stability and certainty provided by the feed-in tariff means that UK PV companies can plan with confidence, invest for the future and take on many more staff as the market continues to grow in a sustained way. This is exactly what we said an effective feed-in tariff could deliver. It contrasts so very positively with the industry's stop start problems of the recent past. We are optimistic about the sector’s future and its role in creating skilled employment.”
Howard Johns, Managing Director, Southern Solar said, “It is an exciting time to be in the solar PV industry, and we are growing our team rapidly to make the most of the opportunity. The long term nature of the feed in tariff has given us the confidence to invest. It is a huge relief to see an end to stop start funding programmes.”
