UK Hits 5GW Installed Capacity
According to newly updated information from NPD Solarbuzz, solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity installed in the United Kingdom has now reached 5 gigawatts (GW), making the U.K. just the sixth country to hit this landmark figure.
Of the other five leading solar-PV countries, Germany remains the leader, with more than 37 GW. China, Japan, Italy and the United States each have more than 10 GW installed.
90 percent of the 5 GW capacity in the UK has been installed in the past three years with 46 percent of the capacity located in the South West and South East regions.
Small-scale feed-in-tariffs (FITs) have accounted for 42 percent while ground-mounted Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) have incentivized 39%of the total.
Residential installations represent one-third of the 5 GW capacity but large-scale ground-mounted solar farms, occupying 50 acres or above, which have grown in popularity in the past 18 months, and nowresponsible for 20 percent of the tota.
At 5 GW, solar PV capacity in the U.K. can now power nearly 6 percent of all households. The cumulative PV capacity is expected to continue to grow strongly until 31 March 2015, before pending policy changes take effect to slow down the large ground-mounted PV segment.
The U.K. government is seeking to shift growth to the large rooftop market; however, rooftop solar PV capacity from systems above 250 kilowatts (kW) represents only 3 percent of the market today, and is still lacking clear policy and incentive drivers.