Scotland's solar capacity rises by a third

• 9 years ago (2014-12-30)
• Junior Isles

Europe 1089 Renewables 776

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Scotland's solar capacity has risen by a third in the past year, according to new figures from British energy regulator Ofgem.

More than 35 000 Scottish homes and 600 businesses now have solar photovoltaic (PV) systems) and the capacity of these systems has reached 140 MW, a rise of 32 per cent from the previous year.

The director of WWF Scotland, Land Banks, said that "alongside energy saving measures, renewable energy technologies like solar and wind will be important to enabling Scotland meet its climate change targets”.

However there remains significant capacity to increase this in the coming years.

Kate Baxter, from solar energy supplier Lightsource Renewable Energy said the company had identified more than 70 potential sites for ground-mounted solar PV farms in Scotland.

Leonie Greene, of the Solar Trade Association, praised the Scottish Government's "world class leadership on renewable energy" and noted how "no other energy technology has delivered the scale of cost reductions seen in solar... [nor] empowered such vast numbers of everyday people to take control of their power supply".