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The Future of Solar Power in the United Kingdom

Author

Listed:
  • Gerard Reid

    (Alexa Capital, 17 Old Court Place, London W8 4PL, UK
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Gerard Wynn

    (GWG Energy, 78 Belle Vue Road, Salisbury SP1 3YD, UK
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

Abstract

We used detailed industry data to analyse the impacts of expected further cost reductions on the competitiveness of solar power in Britain, and assess whether the solar market can survive without support in the near future. We investigated three solar power markets: large-scale, ground-mounted “solar farms” (defined in our analysis as larger than a 5000 kilowatt system); commercial roof-top (250 kW); and residential rooftop (3 kW). We found that all three would be economic without support in the next decade. Such an outcome assumes progressively falling support under a stable policy regime. We found that unsubsidised residential solar power may be cheaper with battery storage within the next five to 10 years. Unsupported domestic solar battery packs achieve payback periods of less than 10 years by 2025. That could create an inflexion point driving adoption of domestic solar systems. The variability of solar power will involve some grid integration costs at higher penetration levels, such as more frequent power market scheduling; more interconnector capacity; storage; and backup power. These costs and responses could be weighed against non-market benefits including the potential for grid balancing; lower carbon and particulate emissions; and energy security.

Suggested Citation

  • Gerard Reid & Gerard Wynn, 2015. "The Future of Solar Power in the United Kingdom," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-15, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:8:y:2015:i:8:p:7818-7832:d:53403
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Maria Nunez Munoz & Erica E. F. Ballantyne & David A. Stone, 2023. "Assessing the Economic Impact of Introducing Localised PV Solar Energy Generation and Energy Storage for Fleet Electrification," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-27, April.
    2. Brown, Donal & Hall, Stephen & Davis, Mark E., 2019. "Prosumers in the post subsidy era: an exploration of new prosumer business models in the UK," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    3. Jun Yin Lee & Renuga Verayiah & Kam Hoe Ong & Agileswari K. Ramasamy & Marayati Binti Marsadek, 2020. "Distributed Generation: A Review on Current Energy Status, Grid-Interconnected PQ Issues, and Implementation Constraints of DG in Malaysia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-40, December.
    4. Meena, Nand K. & Yang, Jin & Zacharis, Evan, 2019. "Optimisation framework for the design and operation of open-market urban and remote community microgrids," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 1-1.
    5. Wahyudi Sutopo & Ika Shinta Mardikaningsih & Roni Zakaria & Ahad Ali, 2020. "A Model to Improve the Implementation Standards of Street Lighting Based on Solar Energy: A Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-20, February.
    6. Vincenzo Dovì & Antonella Battaglini, 2015. "Energy Policy and Climate Change: A Multidisciplinary Approach to a Global Problem," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-8, November.
    7. Wenli Qiang & Shuwen Niu & Xiaojie Liu & Xiang Wang & Zhuo Jia & Runqi Dai, 2018. "Analysis of generation cost changes during China’s energy transition," Energy & Environment, , vol. 29(4), pages 456-472, June.

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