UK tops 4.2 GW of PV capacity

The UK had 4,201 MW of cumulative installed PV capacity at the end of August 2014, according to the latest figures from the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). The country added 37 MW of new PV systems in August, down slightly from 43 MW in July and 65 MW in August 2013.

The numbers for July and Auugst, however, are provisional and will be updated in next month's statistics. The UK added 1,404 MW of new PV capacity in the first 8 months of 2014, up from 824 MW in the same period of 2013. The amount of capacity commissioned under the country’s Renewable Obligation (RO) program stood at 1,420 MW at the end of August, while the amount commissioned under the FIT scheme totaled 2,513 MW. Unaccredited PV systems accounted for most of the remaining capacity.

The UK had 594,487 operational PV systems as of the end of August 2014. The UK aims to cover 15% of its domestic electricity demand with renewables by 2020. As part of this goal, the DECC aims to have 22 GW of installed PV capacity by the end of the decade.