In a significant development for renewable energy, the UK government has announced the formal launch of its Solar Roadmap, which contains an ambitious multi-faceted goal of delivering 45-47GW of solar capacity by 2030. On the horizon is the prospect of clean, home-grown electricity for more than 500,000 homes, lower energy bills and stimulating the economic growth of a sustainable green economy.
Highlights from the announcement:
- Job Creation: The plan is intended to support up to 35k technical jobs, presenting pathways for jobs within the clean energy sector and lifetime careers in solar design, installation, operation and maintenance, etc.
- Closing Skills Gaps: By increasing the engagement with industry groups and trade bodies, the roadmap will discover and close existing skills gaps to ensure a flow of talented and qualified individuals to deliver the UK’s solar ambitions.
- Widespread Public Support: Research indicates 88% of the British public support solar energy, providing a strong societal mandate for ramping up solar power as part of the energy mix, where solar is recognised as key.
- Fast-tracked Approvals: The Federal Government has approved nearly 3GW of nationally significant solar projects since July – more than the previous 14 years of approvals combined, signifying an extraordinarily marked shift to favoured renewable infrastructure.
- Mitigating Investment Barriers: The roadmap provides a new pathway to work through planning constraints, grid connection, supply chain constraints and workforce constraints to enable the fast-tracking of solar.
- Industry-Wide Collaboration: This roadmap is the output of two years of work by the Solar Taskforce, co-chaired by the Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and CEO of Solar Energy UK, Chris Hewett, and supported by the leaders of top solar companies including EDF Renewables and Lightsource bp. Taskforce will morph into a Solar Council who will provide support for implementation and maintain momentum.
What this means for the UK and Industry Partners
Industry leaders, such as Matthew Boulton from EDF Renewables and Alexandra Desouza from Lightsource bp, commend the roadmap for its practical actions and shared purpose and that it can help keep energy costs in the UK competitive, improve economic resilience, and unlock innovation in solar and battery storage.
This alignment marks a powerful transition to Clean Power 2030, compelling communities, farmers, businesses and government to act together towards a common vision of making the transition to renewable, domestic energy generation even faster.