20,000 solar sector employees demonstrated against the proposed cuts in the feed-in tariffs for solar energy. Eastern Germany, where many solar companies are located, was at the centre of protests.
Politicians supported the protests. “The solar industry has invested EUR 1.25 billion in the last years, securing 1,500 jobs and creating 2,700 new positions. This must not be jeopardized by environmental politics”, Saxony’s Minister of Economics Sven Morlock (Free Democratic Party) said. Thuringia’s Prime Minister Christine Lieberknecht (Christian Democratic Union) announced to oppose cuts.
Federal Minister of the Environment Norbert Röttgen (Christian Democratic Union) in contrast defended the proposed cuts, saying “If we want to change the energy supply to rely mostly on renewable energies, subsidies are not the route we should take.”
Sources: Leizpziger Volkszeitung and Rheinische Post
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In the UK there is a problem with a lack of apprentices being trained in engineering. The jobs generated by the proposed expansion of wind energy are likely to go to overseas workers. Other critics point to the closure of the wind turbine manufacturing plant on the Isle of Wight last year, which cost 600 employees their jobs, as further evidence that the Government is not supporting renewable energy. But some momentum is building around solar energy: companies such as SolarUK are receiving plenty of calls from homeowners who are attracted by the new feed-in tariffs for photovoltaics (and for the renewable heat incentive which applies to solar hot water, though this does not come into force until next year).