Provisionally, as of the end of December 2016, overall UK solar PV capacity stood at 11,457 MW across 900,881 installations, representing an increase of 19 percent (1,812 MW) compared to December 2015. The number of solar PV installations confirmed as having been deployed throughout the month stands at 2,324, representing 10 MW of solar PV capacity. The main drivers are small-scale schemes below 5 kilowatts in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. BEIS cautions that this deployment figure for the month should always be taken as highly provisional and is likely to be revised upwards as further data are received on newly operational sites.
To date, large scale installations greater than 5 MW represent 47.6 percent (5,452 MW) of total installed solar PV capacity with small scale installations of 0-4 kW representing 21 percent (2,459 MW). As of the end of September 2016 (end of Q3), 57 percent of capacity (6,401 MW) came from ground-mounted or standalone solar installations, including the first operational solar farm to be accredited for the new Contracts for Differences support mechanism.
Provisionally, overall Feed-in Tariff (FIT)-scale deployment at the end of December 2016 was 5,922 MW, representing 887,280 installations. This represents a 12 percent increase in total FIT installed capacity compared to the same period in 2015, and a 7 percent increase in the number of installations. Solar PV installation was responsible for 99 percent of the increase in installations and an 81 percent growth in capacity (4,796 MW), with wind, in second place, contributing 12 percent to capacity growth. The highest growth rate (on December 2015) was seen in hydro (up by 39 percent to 172.6 MW) and Anaerobic Digestion (AD – up by 16 percent to 261 MW).
PV installations below 50 kilowatts represented 68 percent (3,253 MW) of total PV installed capacity and 99 percent (871,161) of the total number of PV installations.
Statistics for Feed-in Tariff deployment of sub-50 kW wind and solar installations are compiled using data from the Microgeneration Certificate Scheme (MGS), while for AD, hydro and wind and solar over 50 kW they are drawn from the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) ROOFIT accreditation scheme and the Central FIT Register (for installations that have transferred from the RO – most of which will be confirmed on the FIT scheme).
For additional information:
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
