At the end of August 2023, the UK Department of Energy Security and Net Zero Emissions (DESNZ) announced the cumulative photovoltaic capacity data as of July, which was 15292.8 MW.

From January to July this year, 634.8 MW of new photovoltaic systems were installed in the UK, compared with 315.5 MW in the same period last year.

The country set a record of approximately 71.3 MW of new power generation in July alone, and this is only provisional and is expected to be revised upwards as more data on newly operational power plants is received. The newly installed photovoltaic capacity in July 2022 was 46.4 MW, while the total newly installed capacity in June this year reached 84 MW.

Gareth Simkins, spokesman for the London-based British Solar Industry Association, told pv magazine the figures were "relatively low". "However, I suspect this is just a temporary deviation. Secondly, I would like to stress that statistics are not very reliable," he said.

Chris Hewett, chief executive of the British Solar Industry Association, explained that the government often "lags" in collecting data on the operation of utility-scale PV plants, and there is a lack of "reliable data" to quantify the amount of electricity generated by commercial rooftop PV. "Commercial rooftop PV capacity is on par with government statistics over the past few years," he said. "But we all know there is much more capacity than government statistics show."

Hewett said based on the feedback he has received from association members, the market for commercial rooftop solar and residential small solar systems continues to grow. Simkins estimates that the July figure should be 16 GW. He predicted that "strong growth" in the photovoltaic industry will be reflected in the figures for 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Simkins said: “To reach the UK government’s 70 GW target by 2035, we need to install 4.5 GW of capacity per year before then. And as the industry continues to develop, this is what we can do within our capabilities. "Obviously we're not going to get there right away, but we're going to get there faster and probably beyond."

In March 2023, the British government established a photovoltaic task force, an alliance of photovoltaic industry stakeholders co-led by Hewett, responsible for accelerating the development of the photovoltaic market and achieving the goal of installing 70 GW photovoltaic systems by 2035. Its plans focus on increasing rooftop and ground-mounted PV systems, but also include securing investment and increasing the skilled workforce in the PV industry. The working group aims to publish next year a roadmap to achieve the 2035 target of 70 GW of installed PV capacity.

Hewett said the biggest challenge facing the UK solar PV industry is grid connection and investment, which have historically been affected by regulations introduced by the UK Office for the Gas and Electricity Market (Ofgem). Ofgem is the British government agency that regulates the electricity and downstream natural gas markets.

Hewett said: "Some of the regulations from Ofgem have driven down the level of investment because this is seen to increasingly be paid for by consumers. "At the same time, solar and wind are clearly the cheapest generation technologies on the market now, so the sooner solar and wind are The faster power generation facilities can be brought to market, the faster electricity prices can be reduced.”

The second biggest issue facing the photovoltaic industry is developing a skilled workforce. Hewett said this meant ensuring installers and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies could recruit sufficient numbers of qualified workers to meet market demand. "We're starting to hold recruitment events and doing more training events," he said. "It's definitely a challenge, but it's something that the photovoltaic industry is just starting to face."

Hewett added that other issues include improving supply chain reliability and building internal capabilities (such as manufacturing and selling packaged cells), as well as removing "important details" related to rooftop solar more broadly.

question. This will come with some challenges, such as tenants negotiating with landlords about the possibility of installing rooftop photovoltaic systems on rental properties.

Hewett said that what is interesting is that the British Solar Energy Industry Association has seen that many household photovoltaic systems are equipped with battery energy storage systems, "so at least 50% of photovoltaic systems now have battery energy storage systems installed. This is part of the British photovoltaic market." Big feature." According to data released by the British government website, more than 1 million British households have installed rooftop solar panels, but there are still more to install because commercial buildings, schools, warehouses, car parks and water bodies can all install rooftop solar panels. Much “untapped potential”.

Notably, UK utility-scale solar PV projects include the 350 MW Cleve Hill Solar Park on the north coast of Kent, scheduled for completion in 2024, and the 840 MW Botley West planned for Oxfordshire, which has yet to submit planning permission. Solar farm. Editor/Xu Shengpeng