Solar Energy UK is committed to enabling the deployment of 40GW of solar by 2030, in line with what is required to achieve net zero according to multiple independent analyses conducted by the Climate Change Committee (CCC)[1], National Infrastructure Commission, and others.
The CCC’s central scenario forecast estimates the UK will need 22GW of solar PV by 2025, increasing to 54GW of solar PV by 2035, to achieve the Government’s net zero targets. This represents a deployment rate of between 2.7-3.7GW per annum through to 2050, depending on the time horizon measured against. Our analysis, in partnership with Solar Media, shows that in 2020 the UK solar industry added 545MW of new generation capacity.[2] This reflects strong year-on-year growth of 27%, particularly when considering the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and national lockdowns, and is evidence of the sector’s continued resilience. However, this is still far from the annual rate of deployment required to achieve net zero.
The Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme will remain a key policy mechanism for achieving the deployment levels required to meet the Government’s net zero ambitions, and Solar Energy UK is focused on enabling the successful participation of solar and storage projects at all scales in the CfD scheme.
[1] https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/CCC-Accelerated-Electrification-Vivid-Economics-Imperial-1.pdf
[2] https://solarenergyuk.org/news/uk-solar-capacity-grows-by-545-mw-in-2020/
