Thursday, 19 February 2026
Spotting Winners
Taxpayer on the hook for millions as solar company faces administration
Taxpayers are facing a potential multimillion-pound blow as a leading British solar energy developer risks the threat of administration.
Hive Energy is preparing to appoint administrators just months after securing a £60m taxpayer-backed loan from HSBC to launch itself as a global operation.
The loan was announced by the UK Government last November at the UN’s COP30 climate conference to show how the UK was supporting the global expansion of solar. The loan guarantee was personally endorsed by Tim Reid, the chief executive of UK Export Finance Agency (UKEF), who said he was “proud” to support Hive.
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6 comments:
Now here's a handy 'rule of thumb': Anyone who cannot raise a private loan for business purposes is probably a poor bet for government support.
It would appear that governments are swayed by political considerations rather than economic ones. Well, it's not their own money I suppose.
It has the stink of covid PPE about it. £60m lost into a nice little trust for later sharing.
DJ - yes, because it isn't their money, your rule of thumb should become much stronger.
Mike - it does stink doesn't it?
I think I remember an article explaining that not a single US solar company was commercially viable and half of them had gone bankrupt.
Picking winners? Feh.
Remember “the white heat of technology”? They never learn, do they.
Tammly - they probably aren't commercially viable without subsidies of one kind or another. Even subsidy farming doesn't always work apparently.
Peter - I do remember “the white heat of technology”. Lessons never learned as usual.
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