Solar panel manufacturer Sharp has announced the creation of 300 jobs at its manufacturing plant in Wrexham, north Wales.

Solar panel manufacturer Sharp has announced the creation of 300 jobs at its manufacturing plant in Wrexham, north Wales.

New jobs follow the extension of production facilities at the factory worth over £20 million, taking the total number of employees from 800 to 1,100.

The company believes this will almost double its annual production capacity to 500mW/year by March – enough to power more than 170,000 UK homes. An extra 3,000 panels will be produced each day.

Head of international sales at Sharp, Andrew Lee said: "This job creation proves that there is an appetite for solar technology in the UK and that this sector has huge growth potential.

"Despite growing unemployment figures and concerns over rising interest rates and inflation, the FiT (Feed-in Tariff) led to a shot in the arm for the solar industry and we've responded by creating jobs to help drive industry growth potential."

The company will also launch a renewable energy training academy at the factory. The academy has the capacity to train up to 50 installers a month. Courses – to be confirmed next week – cost between £275 and £650, so that the training pays for itself with a single installation which could earn installers £3,500, says Sharp.