Government plan on solar subsidy cuts 'ignored job losses'

The potential loss of thousands of jobs will not be a factor when the government decides whether to implement its proposed heavy cuts to solar power subsidies, according to the chairman of a solar trade body who met energy secretary Amber Rudd on Wednesday.

By contrast, recent government announcements on North Sea gas field development and the fast-tracking of shale gas exploration have highlighted the potential jobs created.

In a highly unusual move, British Photovoltaic Association chair Reza Shaybani has published an account of the meeting in which he says Rudd told him the impact on jobs was not part of the consultation on the solar subsidy cuts. An analysis, based on government data, by Friends of the Earth estimates that 22,000 jobs could be lost by the proposed 87% cut in support for domestic solar electricity.

A spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change said: “This was a private meeting, of which no verbatim minutes or transcripts were taken. We do not recognise this document or the quotes it contains.”

The Decc spokesman said the focus of its proposal was to find the right level of “feed in tariff” subsidy for solar: “This consultation is about doing what is best for hard working bill-payers and protecting them from the impact of further uncontrolled subsidies on their energy bills.”

He said Decc’s initial ambition for the solar FIT had been 750,000 installations by 2020, but that this would be reached by the end of 2015. The government’s own impact assessment of the proposed FIT cuts concludes the changes are likely to have a “negative impact” on existing and new jobs.

Shaybani told the Guardian: “The BPVA is a friend of the government, we are not a militant group which criticises the government for the sake of it. So I was surprised. I believe the government works as one machine. If we lose jobs that is bad for Decc, the Treasury and the prime minister. People will be knocking on the door of the Department of Work and Pensions and living on the public purse. It doesn’t make sense to me.” Former Decc minister Greg Barker was appointed president of the BPVA in July.

“The industry is angry at the treatment of renewables compared with fossil fuels,” Shaybani said. “We are sick and tired of being treated extremely unfairly.”

He noted that the chancellor George Osborne had highlighted the “massive government support” for North Sea oil and gas on 31 August, when welcoming the go-ahead for Culzean gas field in the North Sea, expected to create 400 jobs. “Despite challenging times, this government has backed the oil and gas industry at every turn, introducing a vital package of support to help it to protect and create jobs,” Osborne said.

On 14 August, Rudd announced the fast-tracking of shale gas exploration and said: “We are backing the safe development of shale gas because it’s good for jobs giving hardworking people and their families more financial security.” Rudd argues the cuts to solar power subsidies are needed to keep consumer energy bills down. The changes are estimated to reduce annual bills by a few pounds at most.

“Why is the government so outspoken about renewable energy subsidies but so quiet about fossil fuel subsidies,” said Shaybani. He said a recent IMF report showed fossil fuels benefited from over £400 per person in the UK each year, while renewables got £112.

Caroline Flint, Labour’s shadow energy secretary, said: “Amber Rudd promised [in May] to unleash a solar revolution, but this change is likely to cost jobs and investment in the green economy.”

A new ICM opinion poll for Cooperative Energy, published on Friday, found solar power to be the most popular source of electricity amongst the public, including among Conservative voters, and was supported by 10 times as many people as fracking.

Ramsay Dunning at Co-operative Energy said: “The overwhelming picture from our poll is that the British public support renewable, and most importantly, community energy generation. Therefore the government’s decision to withdraw its support from the renewable sector is extremely disappointing and at odds with popular opinion.”