New UK government signals strong support for solar
Signs of a UK government that’s prepared to back solar have emerged within a fortnight of the Labour Party securing victory in the General Election. The government has already signed off on more than 1 GW of new solar capacity.
UK energy retailers add heat pump tariffs
Time-of-use and type-of-use tariffs for heat pump customers launched to support technology adoption in market where gas heating remains competitive on price.
Energy management market to roughly double in Europe by 2030, says LCP Delta
New analysis from LCP Delta finds Germany is Europe’s top market for home energy management systems and predicts European yearly sales will more than double by the end of the decade.
Microclimates could bolster case for agrivoltaics
A new paper finds that combining photovoltaics with crop farming can result in revenue gains over the life of a PV system at a diverse range of locations in the United Kingdom. Researcher Aritra Ghosh tells pv magazine that the benefits of agrivoltaics are “multifaceted.”
Statkraft signs PPA for 80 MW solar plant, with storage in pipeline
Deal sees Statkraft portfolio of solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) rise to 1,425 MW in Great Britain. The company also has multiple gigawatts of contracted flexible capacity on the British grid.
Rio Tinto building more solar at mining sites
Multinational mining company Rio Tinto has finished installation work at the Diavik Diamond Mine in Canada and has announced plans for two 5.25 MW plants at a bauxite mine in Australia’s Northern Territory.
United Kingdom breaks 16 GW barrier for solar deployment
Revised figures reveal UK solar capacity surpassed 16 GW in 2023, thanks to the inclusion of the newly available distribution network operator (DNO). Provisional figures for the first quarter of 2024 show the pace of new capacity lagging the same period in 2023.
Statkraft signs ‘first-of-a-kind’ PPA with UK developer Luminous Energy
Generator enters agreement on solar plant which is also subject to a virtual corporate PPA and a fixed-price contract secured through the UK government’s Contracts for Difference auction mechanism.
New diode equation can improve solar thin-film efficiency, researchers claim
Scientists in the United Kingdom and Finland publish a new model for analyzing thin-film and other PV devices with low charge-carrier mobilities. It’s claimed the unified diode equation for thin-film PV provides insights into the mechanisms driving limiting charge collection and power-conversion efficiency in low-mobility PV devices.
What does the UK general election mean for solar?
Voters will soon go to the polls for a UK General Election which has seen the cost-of-living featuring high on the agenda. Much of what’s in store for solar and the wider renewables industry in the United Kingdom may depend on decisions made by the next government – as key deadlines for net-zero draw near.
