Solar Power Portal launches subsidy-free solar campaign as UK market readies for a rebound

Solar Power Portal has today launched a new content campaign to shine a light on the growing case for unsubsidised, utility-scale solar in the UK.

The ‘Subsidy-free Solar in the UK’ campaign will run on SPP from today until mid-June, detailing precisely how the UK solar market is returning to a build phase for the first time since the closure of the Renewables Obligation scheme in 2017.

The campaign itself will feature news, interviews, features, case studies and more as the SPP editorial team gets under the skin of subsidy-free solar in the UK.

It will include leading insight into the economic feasibility of unsubsidised solar PV, exploring new business models, design and build principles and power management practices, while exploring the pipeline of projects in great detail.

It comes amidst a raft of new activity in the UK market, with all signs pointing towards a ramp-up in development starting in earnest in Q2 this year. Solar Media’s in-house market research team revealed earlier this month that the project pipeline in the UK had swelled to some 6.5GW, of which 1.5GW could realistically be expected to come onstream this year.

The campaign will also lead into SPP’s forthcoming Utility Solar Summit UK event, which takes place in central London from 10 – 11 June 2020. The two-day event will profile the project pipeline and those developing utility-scale solar in the UK, investigating the business models supporting such projects and the technology sets chosen for new solar deployment.

Liam Stoker, editor in chief at Solar Media, said: “After the rather abrupt withdrawal of subsidies, the UK’s large-scale solar sector entered into a period of hibernation but it is now well and truly stirring. We’ve long heard suggestions of subsidy-free deployment edging closer and while a handful of sites have indeed come forward in the past, we’re now seeing tangible evidence that UK solar is ready to boom once more.

“Both the content campaign and event will provide a deep dive into the who, where, what and how of utility-scale solar in the UK, and the timing of the two could not be better.”

All content under the ‘Subsidy-free Solar in the UK’ campaign can be found in the newly-added campaign section of the home page, or by clicking on the ‘USS2020’ tag in relevant stories.

More detail on the Utility Solar Summit UK event – including how to both sponsor and attend – can be found here.