Editor’s Blog

Solar Media’s head of market research Finlay Colville concludes his two-part breakdown of who owns the UK’s entire cumulative solar PV capacity.

In a set of two blogs to be featured this week on Solar Power Portal, Finlay Colville provides the first ever full breakdown of who owns the UK’s entire cumulative solar PV capacity, deployed as of the end of 2016, adding up to about 12GW of capacity.

Liam Stoker recaps five of the key themes that were discussed during this week’s Solar Finance & Investment Europe conference, including how much UK solar capacity is up for grabs, Brexit, storage and where the smart money is going next.

Corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) are not a new feature of the UK solar market, but since the cuts enacted to the feed-in tariff last year they have risen to new prominence. David Pratt examines how these deals are made, and what benefits they offer to both sides.

While Brexit looms, bringing uncertainty into the country’s economy and international relationships, the role energy storage will play in a decentralised, low(er) carbon and more flexible energy system at least seems a little more assured than it did before.

Liam Stoker responds to one Ofgem official’s disparaging comments regarding renewables, and the spin some national newspapers have afforded them.

The imminent capacity market auction could offer some clues on the direction of travel, writes Terry Macalister, but the government could be missing a trick by not steering the mechanism down a greener path.

Liam Stoker analyses why in the UK’s renewables sector, chancellor Philip Hammond has an industry that can survive and flourish in a post-Brexit Britain as long as he is prepared to support it in Wednesday’s Autumn Statement.

We need your help to make sure SPP can do everything in its power to support UK solar in 2017. We’ll even throw in a prize!

As the long-awaited call for evidence (CfE) on the future of the UK’s smart power policy gets ever closer, David Pratt outlines the five key areas the UK government is seeking to address in the upcoming document.