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, according to research by alternative energy analysts at GlobalData.
The company’s latest report predicts that the cumulative installed capacity of renewable energy plants will reach 79,000MW by 2025, just 2,000MW 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 from the 11,000MW installed capacity recorded for last year.
Wind is expected to be the country’s major contributing renewable power source in the future, surging from 6,000MW in 2011 to hit 53,000MW by the quarter-century point.
The UK is in an ideal location for generating wind power and is a global leader in the sector, according to the report. 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 1,000MW in 2011 to 13,338MW 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 8,003 tons by 2025.
