How much solar power does the UK have?

The UK has a combined capacity of 13.26 GW of solar PV power - enough to power around 3 million British households. According to the The Solar Trade Association, around 900,000 British homes have solar PV panels installed.

Is the UK a good place to generate solar energy?

The UK is not known for its warm and sunny climate, so it may not seem an obvious country in which to generate solar energy. However, solar power generation only requires some level of daylight to extract the sun’s energy, meaning Britain can still harness solar power during our frequent overcast and rainy days.

Why is solar so popular in the UK?

The growth we’ve seen highlights the appetite for solar PV and does give some insight into the growing reliance on home-grown energy in the UK. More people are turning to renewable solutions to generate their own power at home and it’s great to see increasing levels of confidence in solar.

Do solar panels work in the UK?

Since we are not blessed with a particularly sunny climate in the UK, solar panels are somewhat restricted to the amount of power they can generate. Although solar panels can still function on overcast and rainy days, their efficiency drops greatly during these times.

How many solar farms are there in the UK?

They vary in size - often between one and 100 acres, and are located in agricultural or rural areas. Solar farms are designed for extensive solar energy generation that feed directly into the national grid, as opposed to individual solar panels which usually power a single home or building. As of 2015, there were 426 solar farms located in the UK.

What are the benefits of solar power in the UK?

Solar power generated in the UK reduces the need to import electricity from abroad. This not only creates energy industry jobs in the UK, but makes our energy supply and prices more secure, since foreign energy can vary in price as supply and demand changes. Solar power jobs are another benefit of solar generation.