New report from Solar Energy UK and BiGGAREconomics highlights battery and solar's 'substantial and growing' contributionto the UK economy
Just days after the UK set a new solar generation record,the industry has today published a new report detailing how the solar power andbattery storage sectors are expected to almost triple their annual contributionto the UK economy to £5.1bn by 2035.
Trade body Solar Energy UK today unveiled itslatest report - TheEconomic Impact of Solar and Battery Storage - atthe Solar and Storage Live conference in London, confirming the sectorcurrently employs around 20,000 people and provides £321m to the Exchequer.
The report, which was developed in conjunctionwith BiGGAR Economics, estimates the sector contributed £1.9bn in gross valueadded (GVA) to the economy last year, with each job in the industry and itssupply chain contributing almost £90,000 in GVA on average - over 40 per centmore than the UK average.
It also underscored how solar is playing agrowing role in the energy system, with solar generation capacity standingat 20GW at the end of last year, consisting of 4.2GW on homes, a similar amounton commercial roofs, and 11.5GW from ground mounted solar farms.
Meanwhile, battery energy storage systems(BESS) in homes are estimated to provide 1GW of capacity, with those incommercial premises delivering a further 0.5GW, and grid-scale BESS projectstotalling 6GW.
The report cites projections that solarcapacity is set to rise to 90GW in 2035, with 15.3GW on homes, 15.3GW oncommercial premises, and 59.3GW from solar farms. Residential andcommercial-scale BESS installations are each projected to hit 8.3GW, with afurther 33.3GW of grid scale energy storage capacity expected.
The study estimates that based on theseprojections the solar industry could deliver £3.5bn of GVA at all scales by2035 and support 28,700 jobs, while BESS installations could deliver £1.6bn ofGVA and support 13,900 jobs.
For the residential sector alone, the reportestimates solar energy and BESS could deliver 7,960 jobs by 2035, contributing£537m to the economy.
Together it predicts the sectors couldcontribute up to £698m to public finances by 2035 through income tax, nationalinsurance, VAT from employee expenditure, corporation tax, and non-domesticrates.
Graeme Blackett, managing director of BiGGAREconomics, said the report shows that as well as contributing to renewableenergy targets, the solar and storage sector is having "a substantial andgrowing impact on the UK economy."
"The diversity of the impacts isstriking, including for example, installers of domestic rooftop solar,specialist construction and engineering services for utility scale storage andproviding income diversification for farmers," he said.
As an example, the report highlighted how theexpansion of solar farms is already playing a "significant role" inthe rural economy, helping to keep "hard-pressed farmers" in businessby providing a dependable income.
Last year the report estimated farmersreceived payments in the region of £61m from solar farms, with paymentsexpected to reach "well over" £300m by 2035, equating to seven percent of the total income English farmers received in 2023, according to theDepartment for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Elsewhere the report highlighted how inaddition to being the "least expensive" source of power generation,solar also boasts the highest level of public support, according to theDepartment for Energy Security and Net Zero.
"Growing renewable energy generation atpace, alongside the capacity to store it, is obviously of critical importanceto meet the UK's climate change goals," said Gemma Grimes, director ofpolicy and delivery at Solar Energy UK. "But beyond being cheap, flexibleand low-carbon, the effects of solar and battery energy storage on the economyhave played little part in public discourse to date," she added.
"Thereport makes clear that the sectors are already a significant economic player,with their anticipated growth making them a massive stimulus within the next 10years."