The Chief Exec of trade body Solar UK has welcomed growing cross-party support for accelerated change to renewables.
Chris Hewett, Solar Energy UK’s Chief Executive, said: “Solar can and will make a huge contribution to UK national energy security and self-sufficiency while addressing climate change head-on. It is also the quickest of all renewables to deploy.
“There is turmoil in the energy markets caused by events worldwide. Now is the time for the UK to follow all other major economies across the globe to formally adopt the net-zero compliant target for solar. For us, that means the trebling capacity to 40GW by 2030 with similar growth in the following decade. The entire energy industry supports this target, and the solar industry can deliver it.
“Deploying 40GW of solar by 2030 would reduce bills for consumers, help businesses to grow while cutting their carbon emissions, and provide clean energy for the country and the planet. It would also create thousands of high-quality green jobs around the country,” he added
The UK will need to deploy at least 40GW of solar by 2030 to achieve a net-zero economy by 2050. Doing so will require installed solar capacity to triple over the next decade, with an average annual installation rate of 2.6GW.
Solar Energy UK expects 10% of this to be deployed in Scotland. This will be a major challenge, even with the solar industry demonstrating strong growth. “Our analysis shows that the UK can both set and achieve a deployment target of 40GW of solar power in the UK by 2030 – this would accelerate the decarbonisation of the British economy, demonstrate global leadership in renewable energy, and create green jobs and investment.”
