A
new
housing
development
equipped
with
rooftop
solar
panels
in
Selby,
UK
on
Jan.
16,
2025.
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and
solutions.
Solar
farms
and
rooftops
in
the
United
Kingdom
generated
a
record
42
percent
more
electricity
from
January
through
May
2025
than
during
the
same
period
in
2024,
according
to
a
new
analysis
by
Carbon
Brief.
The
UK
also
just
had
its
sunniest
spring
since
record
keeping
began
in
1910,
the
Met
Office
said.
Data
from
the
National
Energy
System
Operator
shows
that
solar
sites
in
the
UK
generated
7.6
terawatt
hours
(TWh)
of
electricity
in
the
first
five
months
of
2025.
That’s
42
percent
more
than
the
5.41
TWh
generated
last
year
at
the
same
time.
It
also
marks
a
260
percent
increase
over
the
past
decade.
“Solar
power
is
rising
faster
than
most
people
realise.
It
is
cheap,
fast
to
install
and
every
unit
of
electricity
it
generates
here
in
the
UK
displaces
two
units
of
imported
gas,”
said
Simon
Evans,
senior
policy
editor
at
Carbon
Brief,
as
The
Times
reported.
NEW
ANALYSIS:
UK’s
solar
power
surges
42%
to
a
new
record,
after
the
sunniest
spring
on
record
*
For
the
first
time,
solar
was
>10%
of
UK
generation
in
consecutive
months
(April/May
2025)
*
In
2025,
solar
has
already
avoided
gas
imports
that
would’ve
cost
£600m
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-uks…[image
or
embed]—
Simon
Evans
(@drsimevans.carbonbrief.org)June
4,
2025
at
11:41
AM
Solar
in
the
UK
also
reached
a
new
half-hourly
milestone
at
1
p.m.
on
April
6,
generating
a
record
13.2
gigawatts
(GW)
and
meeting
40
percent
of
electricity
demand,
Carbon
Brief
said.
For
the
first
time,
solar
made
up
over
10
percent
of
monthly
electricity
generation
two
months
in
a
row
—
April
and
May.
Solar
accounted
for
11.6
percent
of
the
UK’s
electricity
generation
in
May,
just
the
fourth
time
the
10
percent
threshold
has
been
breached.
So
far,
this
year’s
solar
electricity
output
in
the
UK
has
avoided
gas
imports
of
roughly
$813.9
million,
which
would
have
released
approximately
6.61
million
tons
of
carbon
dioxide.
Though
this
year’s
solar
record
was
driven
partially
by
the
sunniest
spring
on
record,
rising
capacity
also
helped.
The
UK’s
solar
capacity
is
on
track
to
reach
a
minimum
of
45
GW
by
the
end
of
the
decade,
as
part
of
the
country’s
goal
of
decarbonizing
the
power
sector
and
becoming
a
“clean-energy
superpower.”
UK
solar
installations
generated
an
average
of
2,320
megawatts
(MW)
of
electricity
in
March,
up
66
percent
from
2024.
April
saw
a
jump
of
53
percent
from
the
previous
year.
Electricity
from
solar
also
reached
a
high
of
2.5
TWh
in
May,
with
April
in
second
place
with
2.3
TWh.
Between
March
1
and
May
31
of
this
year,
the
UK
had
653
hours
of
sunshine
—
43
percent
higher
than
average
for
the
period
1961
to
1990.
Sunshine
hours
in
the
UK
have
been
increasing,
especially
since
the
1980s,
with
spring
months
an
average
of
15
percent
sunnier
during
the
past
decade,
the
analysis
found.
This
spring
was
not
just
the
sunniest
spring,
but
the
fourth-sunniest
season
on
record,
with
only
three
summers
topping
its
sunshine
hours.
The
abundance
of
sunshine,
along
with
growing
capacity,
contributed
to
the
unusually
high
output
of
solar
power.
After
stagnating
for
several
years,
installed
solar
capacity
in
the
UK
had
jumped
to
20.2
GW
by
the
end
of
2024.
As
capacity
has
grown,
prices
have
fallen,
increasing
solar’s
economic
benefits.
Roughly
3
GW
of
new
capacity
have
been
approved
for
gigantic
sites,
including
the
Heckington
Fen
and
Gate
Burton
solar
farms,
each
with
the
potential
to
produce
500
MW
of
electricity
once
installed.
“Every
new
solar
panel
installed
in
the
UK
makes
us
less
dependent
on
gas
imports,
which
is
good
for
our
energy
independence
as
well
as
for
stabilising
energy
bills
given
the
sun
offers
up
its
power
for
free,”
said
Jess
Ralston,
Energy
and
Climate
Intelligence
Unit
analyst,
as
Business
Green
reported.
“As
we
install
more
solar
and
build
more
wind
turbines,
our
reliance
on
gas
will
fall.”
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