A recent report by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) has sparked concerns from Solar Energy UK, which argues that the potential of solar power and battery storage to support Britain’s clean energy future is being significantly undervalued.
Solar Energy UK contends that NESO’s projections underestimate both current and future solar capabilities.
While NESO’s scenarios aim for 47.4GW of solar generation by 2030, this figure is below Labour’s pre-election target of 50GW, a goal the solar industry believes is achievable and even surpassable.
Solar Energy UK notes that NESO relied on outdated solar capacity figures—currently listed at 15GW, though industry estimates now approach 20GW.
This discrepancy is partly due to untracked rooftop installations on large commercial buildings like warehouses and supermarkets, according to official data.
Chris Hewett, CEO of Solar Energy UK, criticised the report’s conservative outlook, especially given solar’s affordability and rapid deployment capabilities.
Chris Hewett said: “Solar Energy UK is very concerned that the potential for solar and energy storage has been underplayed in NESO’s Clean Power 30 scenarios and urge the Government to ask some searching questions about the assumptions used. It is impossible to see how the growth of rooftop solar and batteries, on homes, factories and warehouses has been taken into account.”
