Thousands more Britons are installing solar panels as the Iran war sends fossil fuel prices soaring, pushing the total number of solar arrays across the UK beyond two million for the first time.
Record Monthly Installations
Government data reveals that 27,607 solar systems were added in March, the highest monthly total since 2012. This milestone has propelled the cumulative number of solar installations across the country past two million. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (Desnz) attributed the surge largely to rooftop solar, with two-thirds of new installations being panels on homes.
Over the past year, Britain’s solar capacity has expanded by 11.7 per cent, adding 2.3 gigawatts of clean power to the national energy mix, Desnz confirmed.
Government Response
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “The numbers speak for themselves – the highest monthly installation of solar in over a decade, rising capacity and more than two million solar installations now powering homes across Britain. This is our clean energy mission in action – helping families weather global energy shocks, bringing bills down, and getting Britain off the fossil fuel rollercoaster.”
The Government is stepping up solar power across homes, schools and communities. It has given consent to the UK’s largest solar farm, Springwell Solar Farm in Lincolnshire, driving forward the roll-out of “plug-in” solar panels for balconies and outdoor spaces and ensuring they are standard on new homes.
Miliband has previously vowed to “double down, not back down” on the transition to clean energy in light of the Iran war, which has led to soaring fossil fuel prices, even as political opponents call for a slowdown on net zero and more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
Solar Records and Public Sentiment
The National Energy System Operator reported that solar set new records in March, generating more than 15GW of power for the first time, as the grid nears the milestone of 100 per cent clean power for a short period for the first time in history.
Jess Ralston, head of energy at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) think tank, said the British public clearly views net zero technologies such as solar as the solution to energy bill volatility and back-to-back oil and gas crises. “They are voting with their feet on accelerating the clean transition through electrification – the logical way to shield households from oil and gas prices soaring as a result of conflict thousands of miles away,” she said. “Once we have installed solar panels or wind turbines, the wind and sun are free, but we will increasingly need to pay other countries for oil and gas as the North Sea continues its inevitable decline, with or without new drilling.”
