Cumulative installed solar capacity in the UK stood at 14.3 GW at the end of last year, according to provisional UK government figures. New installed solar capacity increased by 4% year-on-year, with the rooftop PV market accounting for most of the new installed capacity.
According to provisional government figures, 555 MW of new PV capacity will be installed in the UK by the end of December 2022. The country’s cumulative installed capacity reached 14.3 GW, with more than 1.2 million units installed, a 4% increase from December 2021.
Rooftop micro-generation projects up to 4 kW accounted for most of the growth, with 288.6 MW of new capacity added by the end of December 2022. Cumulative micro-generation capacity reached 3169.1MW, compared to 2880.5MW in 2021 and 2764.1MW in 2020. The UK Micro Generation Certification Scheme (MCS) shows that UK households installed 130,596 photovoltaic systems last year, an increase of 115% over 2021 and the highest level of annual deployment since 2015.
Large-scale PV installations between 5 MW and 25 MW have grown by only 23 MW since 2021. Cumulative installed capacity in this sector is 4,358.5 MW by the end of 2022, 4,335.5 MW in 2021 and 4,320.5 MW in 2020. In 2022, the country did not add any installed photovoltaic capacity above 25 MW, and the cumulative installed capacity in this field has remained at 1728.7 MW since 2021, compared with 1653.7 MW in 2020.
In December 2022, a total of 50 MW of newly installed capacity will be added in all sectors.
"The number of new installations is the lowest it has been in the past four months, with many projects likely to be delayed due to the Christmas and New Year period," the government said. A correction may be made as further data becomes available."
By the end of September 2022, 55% (7,739MW) of the UK's total installed national capacity will come from ground-mounted arrays or stand-alone solar installations. It also includes two operational solar plants with contracts for difference, the government reported.