UK Renewable Energy Capacity to Equal Thermal by 2025

Growing government support, combined with significant untapped potential, could see the UK’s renewable energy installed capacity almost match that of the traditionally dominant thermal sector by 2025, states new research by alternative energy experts GlobalData.

The company’s latest report (“Solar PV in the UK, Market Outlook to 2025 – Capacity, Generation, Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), Investment Trends, Regulations and Company Profiles”) predicts that the cumulative installed capacity of renewable energy plants will reach 79 thousand megawatts (MW) by 2025 – just two thousand (MW) less than the predicted thermal installed capacity for the same year.

The renewable energy industry is the fastest growing segment in the UK’s power mix, and is set to grow impressively from the 11 thousand MW installed capacity recorded for last year.

Wind is expected to be the country’s major contributing renewable power source in the future, surging from a modest 6 thousand MW in 2011 to hit 53 thousand MW by the quarter-century point.

The UK is in an ideal location for generating wind power and is a global leader in the sector. The government has provided impressive support for the development of offshore wind energy farms and hopes to capitalize on this readily available and environmentally friendly resource.

Solar PV is also expected to exhibit strong growth in the future, climbing from just over one thousand MW in 2011 to 13,338 MW installed capacity in 2025.

As a result of the UK’s new emphasis on renewable energy generation, GlobalData predicts the country’s carbon savings to skyrocket from just 608 tons in 2011 to a massively improved 8,003 tons by 2025.

[mappress]

Press release, September 19, 2012; Image: EWEA