Staff at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), in central London, today found two ten pence pieces on the pavement outside their main entrance. This was no ordinary loose change, but two giant 8ft coins. They were brought to the department by us, ‘We Support Solar’, a group of construction industry workers wanting urgent Government action on green jobs. As followers will know by now, an extra 10p on the proposed solar photovoltaic (PV) tariffs under the Government’s forthcoming Clean Energy Cash Back scheme is all that is needed to deliver rapid solar jobs growth in the mainstream roofing and wider construction sector from 2010.

Each of the 30 workers outside DECC donned a ‘green’ shirt collar to represent the 30,000 new UK solar PV construction jobs that could be created over the next four years under an effective Clean Energy Cash Backscheme. Under the Government’s current proposals however, the UK solar PV market will continue to lag behind that of Belgium with only 3,000 new solar jobs likely by 2013, just 10% of the realistic potential.

Our group included solar power supporters TV celebrity Oliver Heath, from ITV’s ‘Dream Homes’; Alan Simpson MP, Government advisor on the Clean Energy Cash Back scheme;  Colin Challen MP, Labour Chairman of the Commons All Party Climate Change Group and Ray Horwood, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC) and Carol Wrench, Head of Public Affairs, Electrical Contractors Association. The event was also backed by the largest union in the UK, UNITE and the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) and Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA).  Between them, the NFRC, FMB and ECA represent almost 16,000 UK building companies.

Oliver Heath said: “Solar power can play a significant role in the greening of our buildings, while providing tens of thousands of new green jobs. The world is waking up to this, but the UK Government’s proposals fall far short of what’s needed to boost investment and jobs in solar PV. If the ‘Clean Energy Cash Back’ scheme aims to deliver just 0.5% of UK electricity from solar power by 2020, it’s hardly surprising. Lets change the situation and see to it that that more electricity is generated locally - the repercussions will be many and positive. I believe in solar energy - that’s why I’m planning it for my own home refurbishment.”

Ray Horwood CBE, Chief Executive, National Federation of Roofing Contractors said: “Over 100 NFRC member companies have been trained to date in installing solar PV, bringing new jobs and new opportunities to roofers up and down the country. But this is literally just scratching the surface of the massive jobs potential that could be unleashed very quickly by higher tariffs under the Clean Energy Cash Back scheme .”

Dougie Rooney, National Officer for Energy and Utilities, Unite the Union said: “The opportunity for 30,000 clean energy jobs by 2014 should not, under any circumstances, be turned down. We represent our 2 million members with this view and call for 10p to be added to the ‘Clean Energy Cash back’ scheme. Young men and women have been hit hard by unemployment over the past year and apprenticeships in the solar industry offer them much needed, well paid, long term skilled employment. This is a real solution; the Government must leap on this chance to enhance the Engineering Supply Chain and plug losses in the job market.”

Brian Berry, Director of External Affairs, Federation of Master Builders said: “By increasing the clean energy cash back level for solar PV by at least 10p, the government would be helping to kick start economic recovery in the British construction industry - allowing solar energy to play a significant role in the greening of our housing stock. The FMB wants to maximise solar jobs for our members.”

Paul Reeve, Head of Environment, Electrical Contractors Association added: “Feed-in tariffs need to be set sufficiently high to stimulate consumer demand and ultimately create jobs in the green sector. Providing credible incentives will have many positive benefits for industry, the economy and the climate change agenda.”

Alan Simpson MP, Government advisor on the Clean Energy Cash Back scheme said: “The clean energy cash back scheme can deliver massive benefits for UK jobs and the economy during the next Parliament. It can only do so if Ministers resist the siren calls of the schemes critics and are bold enough to put in place meaningful tariff levels for solar PV and other renewable electricity technologies.”

Colin Challen MP Labour Chairman of the Commons All Party Climate Change Group said: “The Clean Energy Cash Back scheme can deliver a massive and very rapid jobs boost to UK building companies. At a time when roofers and builders are literally crying out for concrete action on green jobs, we need effective solar PV tariffs from 2010 to drive new investment and new skilled jobs throughout the construction sector.”

Jonathan Porritt, Founder Director, Forum for the Future added: “The limited scope and ambition of the Government’s proposed “clean energy cash back” scheme is a huge disappointment.  If Ed Miliband leaves his department’s consultation proposals unchanged, we will be turning our backs on many tens of thousands of skilled green jobs during the next Parliament. The good news is that it’s not too late to put in place an effective scheme, one that can deliver rapid uptake of solar PV and other renewables, drive new investment, boost building sector employment and give us a fighting chance of actually delivering the 2020 renewable energy target.   I am very happy therefore to back the ‘We Support Solar campaign’s call for another 10p to be added to the proposed solar PV tariffs.”

The We Support Solar Campaign has today welcomed the huge show of support it has received from MPs.

To date, 290 MPs have endorsed the campaign, including former Labour Ministers, leading Labour backbenchers such as Colin Challen MP (chair of the All-Party Climate Change Group), Alan Simpson MP (Government adviser on the forthcoming “clean energy cash back” scheme), Nick Clegg MP and Conservative and Lib Dem Shadow Ministers.

Colin Challen’s Commons motion (EDM 689) on solar power ended the 2008/9 Parliamentary session last week with 285 MP signatories. This makes it the second highest supported motion overall out of nearly 2,300 tabled during the 2008/9 session.

The motion urged the Government to ensure that the potential of solar photovoltaics (PV) to “deliver significant carbon dioxide reductions in the built environment, to make a significant contribution to the 2020 target and to deliver many tens of thousands of new green UK jobs is supported…”

Please allow a few seconds for the video to load.

This video was made before the Feed-in Tariff, or ‘Clean Energy Cashback’ scheme was announced. With the new scheme in place you will be able to make more money from owning solar PV, in fact, over the liftime of the system and the scheme (25 years) you should more than double your money (if the rates stay as they are, or get better).

The video also does not mention solar tiles, which are much more aesthetic solar PV solution, since they replace the your actual roof tiles, rather than requiring to be bolted on top of your existing roof.

Please allow the video a few seconds to load…

Representatives from the ‘We Support Solar’ campaign will today speak in the Palace of Westminster. Welcoming substantial support from MPs of all parties, they will argue the need for policy makers to now put in place an effective “clean energy cash back” scheme, one which can deliver strong immediate growth in solar PV and other small-scale renewable electricity technologies from April 2010. They will argue the need for MPs to back a “modest and achievable” solar PV target of at least 14 TWh of electricity per year from the technology by 2020, equivalent to around 3.5% of UK electricity demand. Derry Newman and Jeremy Leggett from the UK Photovoltaic Manufacturers Association will be giving public evidence at the Energy and Climate Change Committee’s inquiry into ‘low carbon technologies in a green economy’.

Newman and Leggett will stress that solar photovoltaics is one of the fastest growing energy markets in the world, Silicon Valley’s favourite for energy investment. With European neighbours driving low carbon investment with robust and bold policy changes such as a strong ‘Feed-in tariff’, where a premium price is set for the clean electricity production, billions of pounds worth of private and commercial investment is taking place, creating hundreds of thousands of green collar jobs across the world. But as things stand, the UK is out of touch with this clean energy market and investment is going elsewhere. This is backed by a recent report by Deutsche Bank, naming the UK as a ‘high risk policy and investment environment’ based on its poor Feed-in tariff in comparison to other countries.

The UK Government’s ambition for all decentralised renewable electricity technologies is currently set at just two percent of electricity demand or around 8 TWh by 2020. In contrast, the Government’s own consultants have told it that setting the forthcoming clean energy cash back scheme to deliver a return on investment of 25 TWh per year from all FIT small-scale renewables, including 14 TWh from PV, is more than 6% of our electricity needs, and is more than the combined output in 2008 of the five British Energy nuclear power stations facing decommissioning between now and 2020.

Newman and Leggett will emphasise that 14 TWh from solar PV by 2020 is a modest and thoroughly achievable target, being some 7TWh per year less than the realistic 2020 potential for the UK identified by the European PV Industry Association in their SET for 2020 plan. UK PV modeling also confirms the potential for at least 21 TWh or 5% of UK electricity to come from solar PV by 2020.

‘We Support Solar’ argues that there is an unwillingness to accept decentralised energy production at policy level, with cultural road blocks being placed to prevent its uptake. This, they claim, is putting both our energy and environmental security at risk.

They will call for a change in attitude towards local electricity production to reflect public desire and an acceptance of the demand for local electricity production with concerns over projected energy price rises over the next five years.

The blockage, according to the group, is the decision made by the Department of Energy and Climate Change to set the ‘Feed-in tariff’ level to deliver exceptionally low returns on investment for solar PV of between just 0.4 and 4 percent; significantly lower than the Government’s own target rates for the scheme of between 5 and 8%.

The ‘We Support Solar’ group is campaigning for at least a further 10p to be added to the ‘tariff’ with its ‘Small Change. Big Difference’ campaign.

We Support Solar Supporters include The Federation of Master Builders; WWF; Friends of the Earth; The Green New Deal Group; National Federation of Roofing Contractors and The World Future Council who last week urged MPs to contact The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband MP for urgent revision of the proposed solar PV ‘Feed-in tariff’.

Friends of the Earth is demanding that the Government finally commit to supporting local renewable energy with a decent Feed-in tariff.

FoE has been a huge supporter of our campaign and represented renewables for many years so we’re chuffed to see their hard work continue at this crucial time.

The legendary Alan Simpson MP has launched a new Early Day Motion, EDM 2196, backed by FoE and We Support Solar . This will help get more visibility in Parliament and reinforce our own call to action for solar power.

The EDM says:

“That this House underlines the importance of demonstrating a strong commitment to policies to tackle climate change in the run-up to negotiations in Copenhagen; reiterates its welcome for the inclusion of feed-in tariff legislation in the Energy Act 2008; notes the strong support for this legislation from a wide variety of businesses, environmental, consumer and fuel poverty groups, trade unions, farmers and social landlords; further notes the huge technical potential for sub-5 megawatt decentralised renewable technologies to deliver up to one third of the UK’s electricity; believes that decentralised energy could make a considerable contribution to cutting the UK’s carbon emissions, tackling fuel poverty, increasing energy security and generating green jobs; is concerned that tariffs proposed for the Government’s Clean Energy Cashback scheme will mean decentralised renewable electricity is anticipated to contribute just two per cent. of the UK’s electricity by 2020; considers this to be a wholly inadequate level of ambition; supports calls for a suitably ambitious tariff which delivers a significantly higher return on investment; and therefore calls on the Government to revise the proposed tariffs substantially, to increase the level of ambition of the scheme and offer communities, households and businesses a significant role in driving UK renewable energy deployment.”

‘Help raise awareness, WRITE TO YOUR MP‘ to demand a scheme that lives up to the UK’s renewable energy potential and visit the Friends of the Earth site.