Wind power firm could be forced to cut 150 jobs unless Government assists renewable energy sector

A renewable energy entrepreneur says he will be forced to cut 150 staff from his company unless the Federal Government can deliver more assistance to wind power equipment manufacturers.

The threat comes as the Government’s rebate for solar hot water has created huge demand, forcing down prices for renewable energy credits and stifling demand for other forms of alternative energy.

Steve Garner, chief executive of Keppel Prince Engineering, says his company may eventually be forced to find other avenues of work if the Federal Government does not grant some sort of assistance.

The company manufactures about 40% of Australia’s wind turbine towers.

“Our company is under threat for lack of work. We’ve built part of our business around that sector of building wind towers, but their manufacturing is suffering because of the imbalance in the way the renewable energy certificates are being rolled out.”

“I would like to think otherwise, but certainly there is a risk that if the industry doesn’t deliver, then we will need to assess our continuation in wind component manufacturing.”

Garner says he may be forced to let 150 workers go if enough work cannot be found. But he says the Government needs to reassess its priorities in order to provide the industry with enough projects.

“Absolutely there needs to be a shift in priorities. I think if the Government was able to deliver more renewable energy certificates in the short-term it would help a lot.”

“The industry, I believe, has got something like $28 billion worth of projects waiting to be delivered, and they have been stalled for quite some time. The solar hot water services are not actually delivering any of the renewable energy targets that the Government wants.”

Garner also says the delay on many of the Government’s projects is bad for investors, describing the industry’s performance as a “roller coaster ride”.

“I’ve been in the industry since 1999, and we’ve had the on-again, off-again situation since then. We’ve been on a roller coaster ride through good years and bad depending on assistance. There needs to be stability, and although we thought some targets would help that, it hasn’t.”

“All we really want is a bit of support, and from that I know I can create a further 100 jobs. We could potentially lose 150 now due to this situation, but get some projects underway and we’ll employ in excess of 100 people.”