United Kingdom

Given that the U.K.’s policy support for the solar industry has waned significantly, pv magazine explores whether community energy projects can offer a viable solution for the sector.

With the aim of producing 2 GW of installed capacity by 2050, the Mayor sets out his vision to reduce emissions in London to make it a cleaner space for people to live, and a more energy efficient city in general.

The £2.5 billion Clean Growth Strategy makes no direct mention of solar power, despite explicitly laying out support for numerous policies that will rely – directly or indirectly – on the presence of PV, such as EV charging, property retrofits and green mortgages.

Confirmation of sizeable financial support for offshore wind, marine power, biomass CHP and energy from waste welcomed by renewable energy groups, but government’s solar blind spot continues.

British power group sponsoring three PhD projects at the University of Sheffield to support research designed to revolutionize country’s energy future.

Sheffield will host Britain’s first industrial-scale battery plant, in a bid to help the grid adopt to the rapidly increasing amount of renewable power in the U.K.

A presentation by the National Grid, owner and operator of Britain’s transmission grid, at last week’s UK Solar and Storage show in Birmingham shed light on the potential impact of a widespread EV roll-out to the country’s electricity demand.

As part of the government’s £246 million drive to augment its battery and energy storage knowledge and network, the new Faraday Institution will deliver steady funding to some of the country’s leading universities to support their storage research.

British renewable energy developer Anesco this week commissioned the U.K.’s first large-scale, subsidy-free solar farm. pv magazine talks to Anesco Executive Chairman Steve Shine to learn more about the project, and the company’s future plans.

The U.K.-based low-cost airline believes it could operate electric flights under two hours in duration within the decade, having partnered with U.S. firm Wright Electric to develop a battery-propelled aircraft.