Support for solar power which would add just £1 to bills by 2019 could save thousands of at-risk jobs and help the popular energy source become subsidy free, the industry has said.
The Government has announced plans to cut subsidies for small-scale arrays of rooftop solar panels by 87%, which it says is necessary to stop renewables support costs spiralling out of control.
But the Solar Trade Association (STA) has warned the move could cost up to 27,000 jobs, and waste public money already spent on supporting the technology.
Home insulation firm the Mark Group and energy efficiency firm Climate Energy have gone into administration within hours of each other with the loss of at least 1,000 jobs.
Solar power became Australia’s largest source of renewable energy in 2014, with a cumulative installed capacity of 4 gigawatts (GW), overtaking wind power.
A scheme which helps schools install solar panels on their roofs is under threat from drastic Government cuts to renewables subsidies, its backers have warned.
Renewable energy will be the largest source of new power generation capacity worldwide over the next five years, installing 700 gigawatts, which is more than double what utilities produce today in Japan, the International Energy Agency said.
Over 100 jobs could be at risk in Aberdeen due to proposed cuts to the feed-in tariff for solar energy projects, a trade body has warned.
The Solar Trade Association warned the jobs of up to 27,000 people employed in the solar energy sector and its supply chain are under threat around the UK, with as many as 2,400 of the 3,000 solar jobs in Scotland at risk.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) proposed at the end of August to cut the tariff paid for electricity generated by solar rooftop panels by 87% - from 12.4p to 1.6p.
Plans for a community-owned solar park to help power a village which was at the centre of Britain’s biggest anti-fracking protests have been approved.
Campaigners said the 5MW solar park would not only match the electricity demand of Balcombe in West Sussex but also the nearby village of West Hoathly.
In the summer of 2013, thousands of protesters descended on Balcombe after energy firm Cuadrilla started exploratory drilling for oil, sparking fears that it would go on to frack there.
A Scottish ice-cream firm has joined forces with Absolute Solar and Wind to create Scotland's largest solar farm.
The 7000-panel facility in Aberdeenshire, which is capable of producing enough electricity to power 485 homes, is now ready to be connected to the national grid.
A fourth 400kw wind turbine and a new biomass energy plant have also been constructed at the site as part of Mackie's plan to become a carbon-neutral business.
The Scottish Government has confirmed solar PV projects below 5 Megawatts will continue to receive support following the UK Government’s decision to close the Renewables Obligation.
General Electric said it had struck an agreement with the Government to access export financing of up to 12 billion US dollars (£8 billion) in a deal that could create up to 1,000 jobs.
Government plans to slash subsidies for solar panels on homes could cost more than 20,000 jobs, green campaigners have claimed.
Ministers have announced proposals to cut the amount paid for domestic solar arrays from 12.47p per kilowatt hour to 1.63p for new systems from January 2016 - a fall of 87%.
The plans could mean almost a million renewable installations will be prevented from going ahead over the next five years, according to the Government’s impact assessment of the move.
A postcode in Glasgow is the top mainland spot for small-scale renewables in Scotland, new figures have revealed.
Scottish Renewables said the 2014 Commonwealth Games have made the G40 postcode in the city’s East End a hotspot.
It comes as the body revealed the latest figures for how the sector fares in the country.
Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida and republican candidate for the US presidency, has told a group of voters he would favour ending government subsidies for all forms of energy.
Bush said this would include oil and gas if he makes it to the White House next year.
This video, which was posted online by environmental group 350 Action, shows the brother of former President George W. Bush saying that if he was elected, he would "phase out, through tax reform, the tax credits for wind, for solar, for the oil and gas sector, for all that stuff".
Solar energy subsidies will be cut under plans set out by Energy Secretary Amber Rudd which she claimed would reduce household bills.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is consulting on plans that would see subsidies for some small-scale new solar farms close by 2016.
Ms Rudd said the renewable energy industry could not be given a “blank cheque” and the level of subsidies should be reduced because of a fall in the cost of delivering solar power.
The benefits of solar power to business will be showcased today at Pitmedden Garden estate in Aberdeenshire while the UK swelters in the grip of heatwave.
The event is part of the industry’s annual “solar independence day” scheme that opens a selection of UK solar-powered homes and enterprises to the public.
The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) has installed a 115 panel array on the roof of the estate’s gardeners storage shed, which is generating power for the site’s museum of farming life and other buildings.
