INSTALLERS are rushing to put solar panels on Oxfordshire roofs in time to beat a surprise deadline imposed by the Government.

Anyone failing to get their panels up and running by December 12 will see the cash they receive in return for generating electricity more than halved – from 43.3p per kilowatt hour to 21p.

The sudden cut in the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) has whipped up a storm of protest.

Trade associations claim up to half the jobs in the solar panel industry will be axed when the new rate starts, as order books dry up.

Anyone missing the deadline will receive the lower tariff from April 2 next year.

Howard Johns, managing director of Southern Solar, which employs 100 people nationwide and 10 from its office near Nuneham Courtenay, said: “We had a full order book until April.

“Now a cloud of uncertainty has blown up, thanks to this knee-jerk action from the Government and I cannot say what the future holds for jobs.

“Customers booked in for after December 12 are livid – and rightly so.”

The Renewable Energy Association and Solar Trade Association have surveyed 140 companies, employing 4,055 people, and discovered that 1,715 job cuts are in the pipeline, with 56 per cent of companies saying they would be forced to reduce their workforces by half or more.

One customer lucky enough to beat the deadline was Ros Kent, of Back Lane, Eynsham.

Installing company Joju is scheduled to put £7,000 worth of panels on her roof before the end of the month.

She told the Oxford Mail: “My panels are due to go up on November 23.

“I feel almost guilty about getting in just before the deadline because I know there are others who will miss the boat.”

Juju operations director Phil Michaels said: “The cut in the FiT has led to solar companies working hard to get as many installations as possible completed before the deadline. We believe the cuts were much greater than necessary and are likely to do real harm to the industry.”

Ms Kent added: “The Government should not move the goalposts.

“On the other hand I do see that since the whole scheme is funded by a charge on everyone who pays utility bills, I don’t want to see more people forced into fuel poverty. My prime interest is the climate and I would like to see more money made available for large-scale schemes.”

The Government does not directly fund the FiT – it comes from a charge on all utility bills.