SolarCity to make 500 US hires in one day while UK subsidiary closes

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

SolarCity is looking to hire as many new employees in just one day as it does on average every month, targeting the hire of 500 workers across 10 US states.

The installation and leasing company, which has in recent quarters taken a share of around a third of all residential installs in the US according to GTM Research, will hold an “all-day hiring event” this Wednesday, 21 October.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The new hires will join 14,000 existing employees at SolarCity Corporation, with the company citing growing demand in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic regions and California as the reason behind the expansion. The event will be held in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and various parts of California.

UK government 'doesn’t support solar development'

Meanwhile, in a move that had been expected behind the scenes since the government announcement of severe cuts to support for renewable energy, SolarCity has reportedly pulled its mounting systems subsidiary, Zep Solar, out of Britain’s solar industry.

Zep Solar had set up offices in Milton Keynes, a town just north of London, around eight months ago. Zep had been gearing up to launch its mounting systems, including technology developed specifically for the UK’s commercial and residential rooftop markets, during the Solar Energy UK show hosted by Solar Media, PV Tech’s publisher, last week. Zep Solar’s UK bosses, Jo Ferriter and Chad Medcroft, had previously given PV Tech a tour of the company’s UK facilities and discussed some of the technologies appropriate to the UK market for a feature in PV Tech Power journal.

UK national newspaper The Guardian reported today that SolarCity had issued a statement saying it had put its expansion plans to the UK “on hold indefinitely”, and said the recently proposed changes through its Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) showed that the UK’s government “doesn’t support solar development”. The Guardian news story, which appeared to misunderstand Zep Solar’s business and described it as a vendor of solar panels, also mentioned the recent closures of three other large PV or PV-related businesses in Britain, including Mark Group, in which SunEdison was involved.

PV Tech is seeking further comment from SolarCity.

The company has also announced that it will host its latest quarterly earnings call on Thursday, 29 October. SolarCity will issue its third quarter financial report after the close of markets that day, with the conference call scheduled to take place at 14:00.

Topics covered in that call may include progress at the firm’s fledgling manufacturing facilities, which have started running pilot production of a high efficiency module from a 100MW line. SolarCity produced a conversion efficiency world record-beating module from the line recently, which has sparked both headlines and competition at 22.04% efficiency, with Panasonic announcing that one of its non-commercial modules had been recorded at an even higher efficiency just a day later. A Panasonic representative said the timing of the two announcements was coincidental in an interview with PV Tech last week.

Read Next

July 3, 2025
Renewable energy curtailment in Brazil is set to reach 8% across the country, and be as high as 11% in the north-east, by 2035.
July 3, 2025
Spanish IPP Zelestra has secured a €235 million (US$277 million) increase to its sustainability-linked loan, bringing the total to €770 million.
July 3, 2025
US tracker manufacturer GameChange Solar has introduced the Genius Tracker TF, a new terrain-following solar tracker system designed to deliver “the industry’s lowest grading requirement on challenging terrain.” 
Premium
July 3, 2025
Meeting the UK’s solar targets will not simply require the installation of new capacity, but investment in grid infrastructure and training.
July 3, 2025
TotalEnergies has expanded its renewables assets in the Caribbean, sold a stake in projects in Portugal and begun construction on two PV parks in Spain.
July 3, 2025
Malaysian engineering and infrastructure giant Gamuda has expanded its presence in the Australian renewables sector by partnering with Tasmanian landowners to build a 1.2GW portfolio, which includes solar PV.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 22, 2025
Bilbao, Spain
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK