Solar panel installations by homeowners and power companies plummet after subsidy cuts
Solar panel installations by homes and power companies have virtually ground to a halt after a series of subsidy cuts, latest Government figures show.
The UK’s solar power capacity increased by just 1.5 per cent to 13,500 megawatts in the past year – representing about 5 per cent of the country’s total electricity generation capacity.
This is the third consecutive year of very low installation following a series of cuts in financial support that ended with home panel subsidies being scrapped altogether in April last year.
By contrast, when financial support was strong, solar power installations soared by 85 per cent in 2014, 78 per cent in 2015 and 36 per cent in 2016, according to figures from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
‘Appalling’ figures
“These figures are appalling. Growth in solar power is virtually at a standstill. People across the country are crying out for the Government to take urgent action to tackle the climate emergency, yet time and again they fall short,” said Liberal Democrat spokesperson for the Climate Emergency Sarah Olney.
Greenpeace UK’s chief scientist, Doug Parr, said: “These figures are a reminder of the massive opportunity we’re missing. Solar is the cheapest, most popular energy source in the UK yet a series of cack-handed government interventions have managed to put people off fitting solar panels.”
“Boris Johnson’s new vision for the UK to become the ‘Saudi Arabia of wind power’ is a welcome commitment to renewable energy but that must not mean solar is left in the shade,” he said.
Ms Olney has written to BEIS Secretary of State Alok Sharma urging him “to take decisive action to ensure the UK is at the forefront of global efforts to tackle the climate crisis”.
“Since 2017 the deployment of new solar power across the UK has stalled, increasing only fractionally from 11,897 MW in January 2017 to 13,467 in September 2020. This represents an increase of less than 1,500 MW of new solar power over three years,” Ms Olney wrote.
“This stands in sharp contrast to the rapid growth in solar power from 2010 and 2016. During this period, the amount of solar power in the UK went from zero to nearly 12,000 megawatts,” she added.
Source : inews.co.uk
