Slash energy costs by ‘tripling solar generation’, says Solar Energy UK

• Tripling current solar generation capacity to 60GW by 2030 would significantly reduce energy costs
• Doing so would help the UK reach its clean power goals by 2030
• It would also slash the UK’s reliance on imports of natural gas

Tripling the UK’s current solar generation capacity to 60GW by 2030 would significantly reduce energy costs, according to an academic analysis presented last week by the National Energy System Operator (NESO). 

The analysis also found that it would make delivering the UK government’s 2030 clean power goal easier to reach. 

A further report by the Durham University Energy Institute found that “doing so while greatly expanding energy storage and flexibility would slash reliance on expensive imports of natural gas”. 

However, according to Solar Energy UK, these benefits would be lost if the government relies too heavily on out-of-date assumptions, and doing so “would stifle the growth of cheap, clean solar power”. 

The NESO reported two scenarios, which both explored the UK reaching 47.4GW of solar capacity by 2030. 

But the model – that is similar to the UK’s electricity system – found that expanding this goal to 60GW would result in 12% lower costs.   

Chris Hewett, chief executive, Solar Energy UK, said solar and batteries  offer the government “a huge opportunity” to speed up its mission to deliver clean power. 

“Setting a goal to triple solar to 60GW, rather than a de facto cap implied by the NESO advice, will deliver the lowest cost home grown energy and thousands of secure jobs,” Hewett claimed.

On the back of the report, Solar Energy has created their own projection, founded on “more reliable information than used by NESO,” the trade body reported. 

It found: 

• The two NESO scenarios share a baseline of only 15.1GW of solar capacity being in place last year. Our data shows the true figure for the end of 2024 to be close to 20GW.
• The report failed to consider Government plans to bolster generation on the roots of homes and businesses, via the Warm Homes Fund, GB Energy, the Local Power Plan, the Future Homes Standard, Future Buildings Standard and retrofitting public buildings. 
• A regional breakdown of anticipated solar capacity fails to reflect where projects are being developed. This could result in the industry being asked to build solar farms in places that are not commercially viable, cannot be connected readily to the electricity grid, or where appropriate land is unavailable. It could also result in consented projects not being built.  

Hewett continued: “We entirely agree that the grid connection process must change, as projects can get stuck in a queue for many years. But this needs to be done in a way that will allow ‘ready-to-build’ renewable energy to deliver this decade.” 

Written by

Tamara Birch Senior Writer

Tamara is a London-based journalist and has written about environmental topics for more than four years. This includes advising small business owners on cost-effective ways, like solar panels and energy-efficient products, to help them become more sustainable.

She has used her journalist and research skills to become highly knowledgeable on sustainable initiatives, issues, and solutions to help consumers do their bit for the environment - all while reducing monthly costs.

In addition to adopting sustainable practices in her personal life, Tamara has worked in the retail B2B space to help independent retailers think about their environmental choices and how they can help improve their business. She now uses this knowledge to help consumers do the same.

Her passion for sustainability and eco-friendly solutions stems from a long obsession with nature and animals and ensuring they feel looked after. In her free time, Tamara enjoys reading fantasy novels, visiting the gym, and going on long walks in new areas.

You can get in touch with Tamara via email at tamara.birch@mvfglobal.com.

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Maximilian Schwerdtfeger Content Manager

Max joined The Eco Experts as content manager in February 2024. He has written about sustainability issues across numerous industries, including maritime, supply chain, finance, mining, and retail. He has also written extensively for consumer titles like City AM, The Morning Star, and The Daily Express.

In 2020, he covered in detail the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) legislation on sulphur emissions and its effects on the global container shipping market as online editor of Port Technology International.

He also explored the initiatives major container ports and terminals have launched in order to ship vital goods across the world without polluting the environment.

Since then, he has reported heavily on the impact made by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices on the supply chain of minerals, with a particular focus on rare earth mining in Africa.

As part of this, in 2022 Max visited mines and ports in Angola to hone in on the challenges being faced by one of the world’s biggest producers of rare earth minerals.

His most recent sustainability-related work came much closer to home, as he investigated the eco-challenges faced by independent retailers in the UK, specifically looking at how they can cut emissions and continue to thrive.

Max lives in South London and is an avid reader of books on modern history and ghost stories. He has also recently learned to play the game Mahjong and takes every opportunity to do so. He is also yet to find a sport he doesn’t enjoy watching.

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