The UK could install up to 80GW of solar energy by 2030, six-times current levels of just over 13GW, according to a new report.
The report, by Solarcentury in collaboration with LUT University and Energy Watch Group, said 80GW would meet 20% of the country’s electricity demand and could create 200,000 ‘green’ jobs.
Solarcentury chief executive Frans van den Heuvel said: “As a country, we are proving that solar works, and can be deployed both at scale and speed.
“With demand for electricity set to rise as we shift to an electric based system, the good news is that we have everything we need to significantly increase the UK’s solar capacity, from the momentum, ambition and skills, to the technology, investment and affordability.
“The one missing piece of the puzzle is political will.”
He welcomed the UK government’s commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, but said that the country needed to remove policy barriers to put solar on a level playing field with other clean power technologies.
According to the Solar Trade Association forecasts, the UK could deploy 4-7GW of subsidy-free solar over the next four years amid falling costs.
STA said the levelised cost of electricity for solar could fall below £40 a megawatt-hour before 2030 under a stable policy framework.
STA director of new markets Leonie Greene said the Solarcentury report “illustrates the growing potential and confidence in the solar industry.
“It is ambition like this which will put us on track to net zero. Solar is affordable, popular and proven but government, network providers and regulators must deliver an effective market framework.
“This would enable business and the public to embrace this technology at an unprecedented rate to tackle the climate emergency.”