New South Wales solar industry shedding hundreds of jobs as SMEs shut up shop

Hundreds of jobs in the solar industry are at risk according to a new report from the Australian Solar Energy Society, which says dozens of businesses in New South Wales are considering closing as the Government refuses to introduce support in the form of tariffs and subsidies.

The announcement comes after the only Australian company responsible for manufacturing solar cells announced it would be closing a Sydney location, with 30 jobs lost. The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union continues to blame the state Government.

Both these announcements come just weeks after Carbon Management solutions, the solar installation company that topped last year’s Smart50 list, announced it may need to consider its options if there is no Government support.

ASES chief executive John Grimes says the society’s latest survey paints a dark picture.

“There is a policy vacuum here. There is no policy. It’s having an immediate and dramatic effect in terms of both jobs and overall capacity for the industry.”

“A big problem with all of this is that people are waking up and realising you can hedge future power bills by installing solar systems. But there is no support from Government, so the New South Wales Government is denying these people a chance to hedge against future price increases.”

The survey of 91 businesses shows 25% have closed or will close within the next month. It also found that 416 jobs have been lost in the industry since November 2010 and that there has been a 93% drop off in enquiries since then.

Grimes says it is easy to see how this problem can become worse.

“There are approximately 830 solar companies in New South Wales and we polled 91 of them. If you extrapolate the job losses, we could be looking at over 3,000 jobs already gone.”

“What the industry has done is basically just cut down on its greatest cost, and that is labour. Something might change but ultimately there comes a time when they need to call time on the business, and unfortunately that’s what they’re doing.”

The survey comes after Silex Solar announced yesterday it would cease making solar cells at its manufacturing facility in Western Sydney, with the company saying that it will be undergoing a full restructure.

“These are important changes that are needed to better position Silex Solar as a key player in the Australian PV solar panel industry – both in the residential rooftop market and the growing medium-scale commercial market,” chief executive Michael Goldsworthy said in a statement.

While Silex has not made any reference to the Government scheme in its announcement, the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union has told the ABC that “we warned there would be a possibility of job losses in manufacturing”.

“The decision can be blamed on the roll-back of the Solar Bonus Scheme by the O’Farrell Government, and the Government’s failure to implement any sort of framework for the clean technology industry,” said state secretary Tim Ayres.

Grimes says the situation is dire and won’t get better any time soon.

“I’m not confident at all. I think the New South Wales Government has taken the solar industry and locked it in a drawer.”

“There is a report due next April and we don’t know how long it will take for the Government to respond to that report next year. This is pure contempt for the industry and for the people of New South Wales.”