Solar panel sales set to rise 'tenfold'

Sharp, the biggest British maker of solar panels, is predicting a tenfold surge in demand in the next two years as a result of the Government's Clean Energy Cash Back scheme. General manager Andrew Lee predicts it will boost the number of homes with solar panels from 28,000 to about 250,000 by the end of next year. 'I'm confident that by 2014 there will be about 400,000 homes with solar panels,' he said, 'and the good news is that we believe it will create 30,000 jobs over that period.'

The Department of Energy and Climate Change forecasts that more than 800,000 homes could have solar panels over 25 years. The upbeat prediction is a response to the unveiling by the Government last week of a generous feed-in tariff and a new system of loans that will enable thousands of homeowners to buy

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