The 238 solar industry firms surveyed said they collectively employed 3,665 people now compared to 5,362 a year ago, a fall of 32 per cent. 4 in 10 firms are being forced to either exit the solar market entirely or diversify into other markets to keep their heads above water.
Extrapolating the survey findings across the UK solar industry, the figure for job losses over the past year could exceed 12,500 – around one third of previous total employment in the solar industry, the Solar Trade Association found.
Solar deployment this year is expected to fall from an average of 1GW of past 5 years, to less than 300MW this year, a 75% drop.
The Solar Trade Association has long been concerned by the lack of an industrial strategy for the UK solar industry despite solar increasingly dominating global energy investments.