Solar panel manufacturer Sharp has created 300 new jobs at its European manufacturing plant in Wrexham, North Wales.
The new jobs follow the extension of production facilities at the factory and take the total number of employees from 800 to 1,100. Sharp has invested more than £20 million in the factory.
Following this investment, Sharp will almost double its annual production capacity to 500 MW per year by March 2011 - enough to power more than 170,000 homes in the UK. An additional 3,000 panels will be produced each day - growing from 5,000 to 8,000 once the expansion is complete. According to Sharp, the UK is one of the world's fastest growing markets for solar panel technology. Ofgem recently reported over 17,244 solar installations were made since the start of the FIT to December 2010, while research from AMA forecasts that the UK will progress to around 180,000 installed solar panels each year in 2015 and in excess of 300,000 by 2020.
Andrew Lee, head of international sales for Sharp said: 'This job creation proves that there is an appetite for solar technology in the UK and that this sector has huge growth potential, bucking the trend in the wider economy. Despite growing unemployment figures and concerns over rising interest rates and inflation, the FIT led to a shot in the arm for the solar industry, and we've responded by creating jobs to help drive industry growth potential for U.K. Plc.'