{"id":10969,"date":"2025-02-05T11:43:20","date_gmt":"2025-02-05T11:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solarenergyuk.org\/?post_type=news&p=10969"},"modified":"2025-03-25T01:04:14","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T01:04:14","slug":"capping-solar-and-battery-storage-risks-26bn-investment","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/solarenergyuk.org\/news\/capping-solar-and-battery-storage-risks-26bn-investment\/","title":{"rendered":"Capping solar and battery storage risks \u00a326bn investment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Solar Energy\u00a0UK<\/strong>\u00a0
<\/strong>05 February 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ed Miliband has been warned of a \u201ccliff edge\u201d of investment in cheap, clean solar energy and battery systems after 2030. A combination of policies is putting \u00a326bn of investment at risk and could lead to higher energy bills, says a letter from trade association Solar Energy UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putting the brakes on the deployment of solar farms and grid-scale energy storage early in the next decade poses a risk to the wider economy, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sent to the Energy Secretary on Monday by a group of ten companies led by Solar Energy UK, the letter says that December\u2019s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan (CPAP) would stifle investment in ground-mounted photovoltaics and all but block development of battery energy storage systems (BESS) after 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter is signed by Solar Energy UK Chief Executive Chris Hewett and backed by some of its biggest members, including Low Carbon, EDF Renewables, Boom Power and Innova Renewables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK\u2019s solar generation capacity at the end of last year has been estimated by the industry at 20.2 gigawatts.[1] An annex to the CPAP foresees the total for Great Britain rising to 47GW of solar capacity by 2030, plus an additional 9-10GW of systems under five megawatts, expected to be built mostly on rooftops. Deployment would then slow down, with an additional 22.4GW of systems over 5MW anticipated for 2035.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By that time, 27.1GW of BESS is expected to be online, up from around five gigawatts today. But by 2035, only an additional 1.6GW is foreseen \u2013 a dramatic loss of pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter warns that the industry is facing the prospect of developers working on projects with connection offers for 2031, 2032 and 2033, only to be told that their cheap, green projects are surplus to requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The targets risk making the same mistake at the figures from the National Energy System Operator (NESO) that underpinned the action plan, which would have been even more of a handbrake on the sector by setting lower targets.[2] As the 2035 caps were not included in NESO\u2019s initial advice, there was no opportunity to provide feedback before the plan was published.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe believe that many of these projects will be needed to account for project attrition, to ensure competition in Contracts for Difference auctions, and in case other technologies prove slower to deliver or more expensive; we do not believe that these factors are accounted for in the NESO\u2019s advice or the Government\u2019s CPAP.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group wants the 2035 cap for solar connected to the transmission grid, set at 17GW, to be increased, alongside granting more allowance for batteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFailure to do so will lead to poor outcomes for industry, Government targets, and for consumers through higher CfD prices and higher energy bills. We would also ask if there are any mechanisms in place for Government to hold NESO accountable, to avoid these contradictions repeating again in the future,\u201d says the letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2035 targets are expected to be replaced by the forthcoming Strategic Spatial Energy Plan, due towards the end of next year. Subsequent grid connection offers would be issued in the third quarter of 2027. But that leaves too little time for consenting, procurement and construction for the period to 2035. \u201cThe current plan will therefore cause an investment hiatus now and a hiatus of projects connecting in the early 2030s,\u201d says the letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With NESO implementing the 2035 projections as hard caps on grid-scale photovoltaics from May, there is little time to resolve such issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, the industry remains positive about its prospects and is eager to continue working in partnership with the Government to fully seize the opportunities of British solar and battery storage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[1] UK solar deployment poised to increase 50% YoY, following rapid growth in the second half of 2024<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2] NESO\u2019s clean power scenarios \u2018underplay\u2019 role of solar<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 ENDS \u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s notes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information or to request an interview, please contact:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gareth Simkins, Senior Communications Adviser<\/p>\n\n\n\n

gsimkins@solarenergyuk.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

news@solarenergyuk.org<\/a> | solarenergyuk.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Solar Energy\u00a0UK\u00a005 February 2025 Ed Miliband has been warned of a \u201ccliff edge\u201d of investment in cheap, clean solar energy and battery systems after 2030. A combination of policies is putting \u00a326bn of investment at risk and could lead to higher energy bills, says a letter from trade association Solar Energy UK. Putting the brakes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"template":"","custom_tag":[],"class_list":["post-10969","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCapping solar and battery storage risks \u00a326bn investment • Solar Energy UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/solarenergyuk.org\/news\/capping-solar-and-battery-storage-risks-26bn-investment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Capping solar and battery storage risks \u00a326bn investment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Slowing solar farms and grid-scale energy storage from 2030 poses an economic risk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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