(Image credit: Cedar Creek Energy)
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The continued growth of the UK Solar market has led to a 10.7% increase in installed solar generation in 2023l, registering a total of 17.6GW worth of electricity.
UK’s Solar targets and expectations
The UK has set and industry wide target of 70GW of installed Solar capacity by 2035 with an industry expectation of 40GW by 2030.
This means the 10.7% increase of solar in 2023 is under the 13% annual growth rate needed to reach this 2035 target.
However, the UK Solar industry is expecting the annual growth rate of solar to speed up.
A combination of supportive policies, subsides, and incentives have been put in place to decrease fossil fuel dependency, the UK’s carbon footprint and, at the same time, increase the deployment of solar technologies.
By the end of 2022, the total number of solar PV installations stood at 11,77,295 systems with 15.1GW of solar capacity registered across 1,334,453 installations by May 2023.
Solar farms are expected to contribute 2GW alone through Contract for Difference schemes between 2024 and 2025. Other renewable systems are working under Power Purchase Agreements or as merchant facilities.
The commercial scale rooftop solar market registered around 15,000 installations with 3GW expected to be deployed on both roofs and on the ground in 2024.
If all these targets are met, total solar generation capacity would increase way over 20GW.
What is happening in the UK?
The average home in the UK consumes between 7 and 11kilowatts of electricity each day.
With installations constantly increasing, residential solar technologies create 3kW worth of electricity.
Significantly reducing energy consumption.
The largest solar farm in the UK is the Skotwich Park Solar Farm. Owned by British Solar Renewables, the solar farm currently generates 72MW of capacity.
By the end of 2024, the Project Fortress Solar Farm in Faversham should have been commissioned. The site, once operational, is expected to have a 373MW capacity with a 700megawatt hour battery storage system included.
The largest commercial scale rooftop installation is located at the Associated British Ports of Hull (6.5MW) and the largest single roof installation is at the Marks and Spencer’s East Midlands distribution centre (6.1MW).
In total, 4.7% of the UK’s total electricity generation was from solar in 2023 with solar technology being installed on over 1.2million rooftops.
What challenges does the UK face?
Two issues that could stall and prevent Solar’s continued growth in the UK is the amount skilled individuals in the sector and the issues in infrastructure.
Infrastructure upgrades are essential in ensuring renewable technologies are connected to the grid efficiently.
Government and grid operators have committed to accelerating these upgrades, but it is whether the industry has enough skilled workers to install these changes.
According to the ‘Race to Net Zero’ report, 400,000 new jobs must be created, by 2050, to meet the capacity for the energy transition.
Upskilling the current workforce and bringing in a new, trained workforce will help the UK solar industry stay on track to reach industry targets.
Market leaders in the UK’s Solar market:
- Electricite de France SA
- Lightsource BP
- Hive Energy
- Renewable Energy System ltd
- Ecotricity Group ltd
Conclusion
The UK solar market continues to show a significant rise in the deployment of solar technology, installed capacity, and renewable generation. Whilst annual growth rate percentage is below what it needs to be to reach the UK’s 70GW target by 2035, there is every expectation the growth rate will speed up. Appropriate government policies, subsides, and incentives for residential, commercial, and industrial consumers around deployment and employment will prevent any challenges that could stall the solar market’s growth in the UK. With more and more solar projects being commissioned each year, the UK is well on its way to reach their 70GW target of installed solar capacity by 2035.
In 2024, the Solar and Storage Live event series will host two events in the United Kingdom.
The first will be Solar and Storage Live London at the Excel Centre between 29th-30th April, the second will be our flagship event in Birmingham at the NEC between the 24th and 26th of September.
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To enquire about interviews, submit news and press releases please contact our Editor, Regan Slaymaker, regan.slaymaker@terrapinn.com. For sponsorship and exhibition enquires please contact Tom Moon, tom.moon@terrapinn.com.
