Business Green: Solarcentury reports green jobs boom
The UK's leading solar energy firm, SolarCentury, has today reported that the number of people employed by the company and its partner network has almost doubled over the past six months as the government's feed-in tariff incentive scheme begins to take effect.
The photovoltaic (PV) solar panel provider said that total staff numbers for SolarCentury and its network of 11 certified solar panel installers has risen from 200 at the start of the year to 350 today.
It added that most of the companies in its network are continuing to recruit and expect to increase their headcount by a further 50 per cent by the end of the year. The company is now predicting that there will be over 500 jobs in its network by early next year.
"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," said Seb Berry, head of public affairs for SolarCentury. "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."
Bloomberg: British Subsidies Trigger `Solar Revolution' Under Rainy Skies
The U.K., known for rain and gray skies, enjoyed record installations of solar panels in July after the government guaranteed prices for electricity from
renewable energy up to 10 times market rates.
Photovoltaic panels with the capacity to generate 4.6 megawatts were fitted last month, the energy regulator Ofgem said on its website. That’s more than in all of 2009, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, which forecasts the nation’s solar market will increase 12-fold this year.
The government on April 1 introduced feed-in tariffs that fix above-normal prices for electricity from small installations of wind, solar and hydro power. Companies from the German utility E.ON AG to Tesco Plc, the biggest U.K. supermarket, have entered the market. Sharp Corp. is doubling production at its solar cell factory in Wales, which is the biggest in Britain.
“The solar revolution is coming,” said Serge Younes of the industry consultant WSP Environment & Energy. “There are a lot of roofs in the south of the U.K. and a lot of land.”
Farming Futures: French Farms - Years of Going Solar
It goes without saying that roof space is often not a problem for farmers, but only recently in the UK have so many looked to them to produce clean
electricity. The introduction of the UK’s Feed-in tariff in April this year has proved an opportunity to investigate the potential of roof space to yield another income – as French farmers have been doing for years. The Feed-in tariff was introduced in France in 2008, spurring demand for solar photovoltaics (PV) across the country not least on farm buildings. Solarcentury has worked with many French farmers to help them make the best of the incentives and new technology.
Mr and Mrs Jean-Noël Simard are poultry farmers from Burgundy in France, who installed 470 solar panels on their barns in April 2010. They’re adamant going solar was the right thing to do: “Our solar roof, an ‘Energy Roof’, is an excellent way of diversifying revenue streams for farmers like us. The feed-in tariff makes solar a sound investment with which we can protect ourselves against rising electricity prices while saving many tonnes of C02 emissions too. Solar PV is simply now the best way to upgrade your farm.”
Solarcentury near doubles solar PV installer jobs
Solarcentury today reports a near doubling of employees in its solar PV installer network since the turn of the year. The 11 company network, which covers Wales and all regions of England is made up of some of the longest established and most experienced PV companies in the UK. Solarcentury itself has also witnessed sustained jobs growth in the six month period since Government confirmed the details of the new Feed-in tariff scheme in February 2010.
Jeremy Leggett represents UK clean tech industry on PM’s trip to India
Solarcentury Founder and Chairman joins David Cameron’s Indian trade delegationJeremy Leggett, Chairman of Solarcentury, will tomorrow join the Prime Minister, five members of the Cabinet, two ministers of state and 29 FTSE chief executives travelling to India. The trip aims to forge trade links with India, whose economy is growing at three times the speed of the UK. The delegation is the strongest sent from Britain in modern times.
GE and Solarcentury to get UK schools generating £68,000 from solar power
• GE Capital to finance school solar purchase and installation.• Government’s Feed-in tariff to generate income for school’s loan repayments and more for 25 years.
The Telegraph: Renewable energy is the cash crop of the future for British farmers
Visitors are stalking Britain's rural communities in unsuitable footwear, offering farmers the deal of a lifetime. They're not pushing a wonder fertilizer or trying to side-step their local farmers' market in the hunt for a new superfood, but offering help to cash in on the new gold rush - solar power.Since April, when the Government brought in new subsidies to promote the development of renewable energy, farmers have found they hold the key to a secure investment.
The Guardian: Chris Huhne urges local councils to lead 'green energy revolution'
Local councils will be allowed to sell renewable electricity to the National Grid from today, with the energy secretary, Chris Huhne, urging them to position themselves at the forefront of a power revolution. Huhne has lifted a ban on the sale of surplus electricity to the grid by councils, which say the scheme could raise £100m a year for cash-strapped local authorities in England and Wales.
New Power Capacity from Renewable Sources Tops Fossil Fuels Again in US, Europe
In 2009, for the second year in a row, both the US and Europe added more power capacity from renewable sources such as wind and solar than conventional sources like coal, gas and nuclear, according to twin reports launched today by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21).