Solar Energy UK has praised the decision to relaunch the Solar Taskforce. Image: Statkraft.

The UK government has reactivated the Solar Taskforce as part of a series of plans to speed up the delivery of solar energy across the ry.

The joint government-industry body is co-chaired by Chris Hewett, chief utive of Solar Energy UK, who oversaw the development of the Solar Roadmap, a plan detailing the practical measures needed to reach 70GW of solar generation capacity by 2035. This plan will now need to be revised slightly to meet the new Labour government’s goal of achieving 50GW of generation capacity by 2030.

Commenting on the announcement, Chris Hewett said: “I very much look forward to returning to chair the Solar Taskforce and I am sure that its expert members would echo my thoughts. A lot of the groundwork for the Solar Roadmap has been done already. I have every confidence that we will be able to publish it within a few months.”

“However, the new Government’s eagerness to generate more solar power means redoubling efforts to make the electricity networks fit for purpose, equip Britain’s workforce with the right skills for the solar rollout, and invest in a UK supply chain in areas like batteries, steel mounting and engineering, procurement & construction. This will ensure the UK economy really gains from the growth in clean power,” he added.

The taskforce will now be co-chaired by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, who said: “I want to unleash a UK solar rooftop revolution. We will encourage builders and homeowners in whatever way we can to deliver this win-win technology to millions of addresses in the UK so people can provide their own electricity, cut their bills and at the same time help fight climate change.”

New government spotlights solar

The news comes hot on the heels of other major announcements for the UK solar industry.

Just days ago, the newly elected Labour government announced that it had granted development consent orders (DCOs) to three solar farms classed as nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs), totalling over 1.3GW of generation capacity.

Development will now be able to proceed on the Lincolnshire-based Gate Burton and Mallard Pass solar farms as well as the 500MW solar and storage Sunnica Energy Farm, located on the Suffolk-Cambridgeshire border.

Under former Secretary of State Clarie Coutinho, development consent decisions had previously been delayed on the Sunnica and Mallard Pass projects.

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