The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has confirmed that there were more than 15,000 solar PV installations in London as of last month, totalling more than 52MW in generation capacity.
DECC had been questioned by MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington Diane Abbott on the uptake of solar in the capital and beyond, and minister for energy Andrea Leadsom responded yesterday confirming that a total of 15,214 installations had been in made in London as of 31 May.
The vast majority of which – 14,457 – were domestic installations with almost 600 commercial or industrial systems installed across the capital as rooftop solar continues to gain popularity with businesses. A total of 163 community solar projects had also been completed.
The figures’ release comes in the same month that former climate change secretary Greg Barker, in his new capacity of chairman of the London Sustainable Development Commission, said he hoped solar would be installed in the capital “with greater ambition and greater scale” in the future.
While the number of solar installations in London has grown exponentially there is a growing feeling that more could be achieved, particularly on London’s public estate of schools and hospitals, and the Green Party’s London assembly member Jenny Jones has led calls for Mayor Boris Johnson to do more to accelerate its uptake.
At the start of this month Johnson confirmed funding had been earmarked for a new phase of the RE:FIT programme which will support wider installation of solar PV on public sector estate, with just one in 15 schools in the capital currently benefitting from a solar PV installation.