UK doubles official Q1 2015 solar estimate as capacity approaches 6.5GW

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

The UK government has doubled its estimate for solar deployment in the UK during the first quarter of 2015, upgrading its total deployment forecast to 6.5GW.

Figures released by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) late last week state that the UK had deployed a total of 6,521MW of PV capacity by the end of March 2015, a significant increase on the 5.7GW capacity it originally forecast in April.

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

The new figures take DECC’s total Q1 forecast to 1,285MW from an initial 614MW which, although ultimately more realistic than its previous estimate, still falls short of other figures suggested within the industry.

As reported on PV Tech’s sister site Solar Power Portal, research firm IHS estimated that 1.6GW had been added throughout the first quarter, however other estimates have suggested the UK’s total deployment capacity at the end of the period could have stood at as much as 8GW.

The majority of the added capacity in Q1 predictably came from capacity commissioned and accredited under the renewables obligation (RO) support scheme; DECC has forecast that total capacity under the RO stood at 2.3GW at the end of Q1 2015, an increase of 15% (308MW) on Q4 2014 figures.

DECC also estimates solar PV capacity at the end of April to have stood at 6,562MW from almost 700,000 separate installations, an increase of just 41MW from the previous month’s total.

The RO scheme has now been scaled back and is only available for projects under 5MW. Larger projects must bid for support under the competitive contracts for difference framework.

David Pickup, business analyst for UK industry body the Solar Trade Association, said: “We were expecting an upwards revision, as there is always a time lag in DECC and Ofgem [the UK regulator] data and are anticipating further increases. DECC states that current deployment is 6.5GW, but IHS estimates 7.6GW: this makes DECC’s 2020 ‘target’ deployment of 10-12GW increasingly unrealistic.

“We hope the new government will be updating this target range as a priority in the near future. Our Solar Independence Plan allows, in 2020, a Minimum Ambition of 20GW and a Higher Ambition of 25GW – we feel these are realistic.”

Read Next

June 30, 2025
Eni subsidiary Plentiude has started operations at the northern block of its 330MW Renopool solar portfolio in Spain.
June 30, 2025
Voting on the US tax reconciliation bill is expected to begin in the Senate today, following a draft published on Friday that hit clean energy tax credits hard.
June 30, 2025
The Spanish government has launched a €100 million (US$117 million) aid programme to help promote the recycling and reuse of materials from renewable energy projects.
June 30, 2025
US clean energy developer Clearway Energy Group has received corporate credit facilities over US$1 billion.
June 30, 2025
Australian module manufacturer Tindo Solar has secured a 30MW solar module supply agreement to power Australia's first "net zero pipeline”.
June 27, 2025
Indian solar manufacturer Premier Energies has commissioned its 1.2GW TOPCon solar cell manufacturing line at Fab City, Hyderabad, Telangana.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
July 2, 2025
Bangkok, Thailand
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico