The U.N. energy agency has predicted a significant jump in U.K. solar power generation in 2019, with an estimated 100 gigawatts of solar capacity projected to start operation.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, a form of battery-powered electricity, will account for a growing share of the nation’s electricity mix, with the U.k. expected to be home to a whopping 40 gigawatts by 2022, up from just 9 gigawatts in 2022.
The U.SK solar panel market is expected to grow to $2.7 billion by 2022 from just $1.5 billion in 2022, according to the UESI forecast released Friday.
In a joint statement, the USK and the UAW unions said solar was a vital component of a U. K. economy that was being “unleashed” by new technologies, such as the Internet of Things.
“Solar is the new energy source of the future,” said Michael Phelan, president of U.A.W. union, the UK’s largest union of public sector workers.
“As it becomes the dominant energy source in the UK, it will also bring the world closer together and open up opportunities for jobs, prosperity and social justice.”
The Energiewende, the EU-wide plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% from 1990 levels by 2030, was implemented by the bloc’s governments in 2020.
U.S.-based SolarCity, the nation�s largest solar installer, is in talks with local government authorities to build a new power plant in the Midlands in northern England.
A second planned solar power plant is in the planning stages in Birmingham, England, which will add an estimated 7 gigawatts to the country�s total solar capacity, according the UBS Solar Market Insight survey.
As more countries join the Paris climate agreement, solar projects in the United States will also be added to the list of countries to be monitored by the Paris program.
Phelan said the UASI forecast indicates that solar will grow in the next several years, and the energy industry as a whole is primed to meet that growth.
“We believe the UUW solar panel industry will be in line with projections for PV growth, but that this growth will be accompanied by significant growth in other power sources, such to wind, geothermal and biomass,” he said.
For more information on the UTSI survey, visit www.unes.org/global-insight.
Follow me on Twitter: @Tara_Lee_USATODAY
