The government is planning to penalise businesses and even schools who have invested in solar panels, again, with rate hikes of up to 8 times.



The hike will come from the inclusion of solar panels in the business rates calculation, and will devastate thousands of new jobs.

Britain’s nascent solar industry has lost 12,000 jobs since 2010 thanks to cuts subsidies by the Tories.

Four in 10 companies are considering leaving the solar market entirely.

At the same time, the Tory government is increasing subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, including huge tax breaks for Fracking.



So where is the outcry over the 12,000 lost jobs in the solar industry?

The Chancellor’s planned tax rate hike for solar will be catastrophic for dozens of companies, and for organisations using them.

Greenpeace UK are running a campaign against this rate hike, and say it could leave businesses and schools with a 6-8 times higher bill.

Fiona Byrne, Teacher and Volunteer at St Luke’s Primary, Brighton, says:

Our school community decided to install solar panels because it made financial sense. We are extremely proud of our achievement and feel we’re doing our bit to help the environment, fight climate change and show our students that we can all do our bit. The money we’ve saved is funding new library books, school trips and more playground equipment. It’s a vital bit of income for us. The thought that we’ll now have to pay £270 for business rates on panels we’ve now had for almost two years will disappoint hundreds of children in our school and directly reduce future opportunities. It’s incredibly unjust to be punished for doing the right thing.

The Chancellor’s tax hike will also put thousands of more jobs at risk.

Why are jobs and energy from a dangerous industry like Fracking jobs more important for the Tories than solar?