Official data from the U.K. government’s department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has revealed that 902 MW of solar PV capacity was added between November 30 2016 and November 30 2017, pushing the nation’s cumulative total to 12,642 MW of solar.
This 7.7% increase is modest compared to recent years but, given the conservative nature of the data and the fact that December’s tally is yet to be factored in, the U.K. is likely to surpass 1 GW growth – a respectable level of solar additions in the current climate.
In fact, solar’s growth was higher than the average renewable penetration increase, which rose 5% over the course of the year. The U.K. now sources almost 30% of its electricity from renewable sources, the BEIS data shows.
A recent report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) suggests that the U.K., along with Germany, could hit 50% renewable electricity generation by the mid-2020s.
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The electricity sector accounts for around 17% of the U.K.’s overall fuel consumption, and leads the way in the nation’s decarbonization drive, which in turn is helping to boost the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) on the nation’s roads.
The full government solar installation statistics can be viewed here.
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