Should guidance on solar PV be included in the National Policy Statement?

The solar industry very much welcomes the addition of guidance on solar PV to the National Policy Statement for renewable energy infrastructure. However, there are several provisions which could be strengthened, which we have outlined below.

Should a target for solar generation be included in the NPS?

This equates to roughly 40GW of solar by 2030, and the solar industry body, Solar Energy UK, has demonstrated in its 2021 report “Lighting the Way” that this target is possible. We recommend that a target for solar generation should be included in the NPS.

What policies are being introduced in the solar energy industry?

A set of supportive policies have been introduced including the Feed-in Tariff Scheme, Photovoltaic Poverty Alleviation Project, and other demonstration projects. Later regulation, de-subsidization, and solar power consumption became the hot spot.

Are solar farms a 'critical national priority'?

The Secretary of State will decide applications for large-scale solar farms in line with energy national policy statements. These were updated in January 2024. They now state that the development of low-carbon infrastructure, such as solar farms, is a ‘critical national priority’.

How to support distributed solar photovoltaics (dspv) enterprises?

Secondly, fiscal and tax policies were introduced to support PV enterprises. For DSPV, the China Development Bank and the National Energy Administration jointly published the Opinions on Supporting Financial Services for Distributed Solar Photovoltaics, providing credit support for distributed solar PV projects.

What is the EU photovoltaic charter?

Signed today in the margins of the informal Energy Council meeting by the Commission – represented by EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson - energy ministers from 23 EU countries and industry representatives, the charter sets out a series of voluntary actions to be undertaken to support the EU photovoltaic sector.