Tripling of Solar Jobs in the UK this Year due to FIT?

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I just reported on new findings out by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory showing that feed-in tariffs (FITs) are responsible for 3/4 of total solar PV in the world. The UK is the latest country to implement a major FIT program and expectations for solar energy growth as a result of this program are big.

The UK’s leading solar energy firm, SolarCentury, reported yesterday that the number of people employed in its company and its partner network of 11 certified solar panel installers nearly doubled in the last 6 months due to the launching of this FIT program — from 200 at the start of the year to 350 today.

Furthermore, it expects this number to rise to 500 by the beginning of 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.”

The jobs aren’t coming from nowhere, of course. These employees are installing a lot of solar energy. “Recently released government figures show that over 20MW of new renewable energy capacity has been installed under the feed-in tariff scheme since its introduction in April this year,” Business Green reports.

“The market has been largely driven by soaring demand for PV solar panels with the number of installations in the last four months reaching double the level achieved during the whole of 2009.”

Another country takes off with the fuel of a strong FIT program.

For more on FITs, check out the link at the top of the page or read:

1. UK Solar Market to Increase 5x This Year and 30x by 2015?

2. Australians Will Be Able to Earn $10,000 a Year Supplying Grid From Rooftop Solar

3. Hawaii Follows California with a Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff

Photo Credit: telex4 via flickr