UK solar capacity hits 10GW

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The UK has now installed more than 10GW of solar power capacity. Source: Lightsource.

Total solar capacity installed in the UK has broken through the 10GW barrier, PV Tech's UK sister site Solar Power Portal has revealed.

The development comes just a week after European industry body SolarPower Europe claimed that the UK would continue to be the largest solar market in Europe in 2016 having also topped the tables in the previous year, and also follows a bumper 12 months for deployment in 2015.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Finlay Colville, head of intelligence at Solar Media, writes:

This comes after solar PV installed during the first six weeks of Q1 2016 hit 340MW, adding to the cumulative solar PV in the UK at the end of 2015 of 9.66GW.

The quarterly solar PV additions can be seen in the figure below, split into the range of different incentive rates on offer to the industry over the past five years.

Additions from 1.4 ROCs have dominated the UK’s solar capacity, with the peak in Q1’15 reaching 2.53GW. Source: Solar Media Ltd

The push towards the 10GW mark came mostly in 2015, when 3.9GW was added in twelve months, with 65% of this in Q1 alone.

The growth trajectory by quarter, leading up to the 10GW landmark, is shown below.

Strong deployment of solar in the UK started in the middle of 2011, when attractive FiT rates created the first boom/bust phase for both ground-mount and domestic installs.

In recent months, the drive has come from a range of factors:

  • Drastic cuts to FiTs, leading to a spike in small rooftop installations to 15 January 2016

  • Pre-accreditation of stand-alone ROO-FiTs, driven by RO uncertainty from 22 July 2015, coupled with the ability to share grid connections with community based projects

  • Build-out under 1.3 ROCs for 4.99MW ground-mount farms

  • Closure on >5MW sites, grandfathered under May 2014 policy changes

The UK is going to be dominated by ground-mounted solar until 31 March 2016, with 1.3 ROCs expiring at this point.

After 31 March 2016, there are many questions to be answered. Anyone looking to find out about the UK solar sites available from 1 April 2016 can subscribe to our market research databases, by contacting John Browne at Solar Media.

2 December 2025
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2026. PV ModuleTech Europe 2025 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.
10 March 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

July 1, 2025
The UK government has released this week (30 June) its Solar Roadmap, which sets out practical measures to meet the country’s solar PV targets.
July 1, 2025
French private equity firm Ardian Clean Energy Evergreen Fund (ACEEF) has bought 117 solar PV plants, worth 116MW of total capacity in several locations in Italy.
Premium
June 30, 2025
Solargis CEO Marcel Suri explores three areas where new standards could help underpin greater efficiency, accuracy and market resilience.
June 30, 2025
Eni subsidiary Plentiude has started operations at the northern block of its 330MW Renopool solar portfolio in Spain.
June 27, 2025
The UK government has decided it will not sign a Contract for Difference (CfD) with Xlinks for the 11.5GW Morroco-UK interconnector project.
June 27, 2025
Statkraft has signed PPAs with Better Energy to purchase energy from two solar power plants in Poland with a total capacity of 64GWh.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
July 2, 2025
Bangkok, Thailand
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 22, 2025
Bilbao, Spain
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA