The first half of 2025 has been the strongest year for UK solar energy generation on record, according to a new report from clean energy think tank Ember.
The first six months of this year have seen solar energy generation in the UK rise 32%, producing a record-breaking 9.91TWh. Solar generation has been consistently breaking records in early 2025, with generation highs being smashed for five consecutive months beginning in March 2025.
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Additionally, 8 July saw the highest ever recorded level of solar power on the UK grid at one time, with 14GW of solar energy supplied across the UK, representing a 44% increase in the yearly solar energy peak over the past five years.
This massive uptick in solar generation can be attributed to two key contributing factors this summer: record high levels of sunshine and a significant increase in solar PV installations.
Solar Media Market Research analyst Josh Cornes noted last month that over 2GW of solar PV generation capacity has been added in the UK in the first half of 2025—a figure close to the total installed capacity added across the whole of 2024 and the strongest start to a year in the past decade. The UK currently has over 22GWp of operational solar PV capacity.
Read the full version of this story on our sister site, Solar Power Portal.
