Growing government support and significant untapped potential could lead the U.K.’s renewable energy capacity to almost match that of the traditionally dominant thermal sector by 2025, new research by alternative energy experts GlobalData shows.
Offshore wind is a large part of the U.K. windpower mix.
The company’s latest report predicts that the cumulative installed capacity of renewable energy plants will reach 79 GW by 2025 – just 2 GW less than the predicted thermal installed capacity for the same year.
The renewable energy industry is the fastest growing segment in the U.K.’s power mix, and is set to grow from the 11 GW installed capacity recorded for last year.
Windpower is expected to be the country’s major contributing renewable power source in the future, surging from a modest 6 GW in 2011 to hit 53 GW by the quarter-century point.
The U.K. is in an ideal location for generating wind power and is a global leader in the sector. The government has provided 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 GW in 2011 to 13 GW installed capacity in 2025.
As a result of the U.K.’s new emphasis on renewable energy generation, GlobalData predicts the country’s carbon savings to skyrocket from just 608 tons in 2011 to a massively improved 8,003 tons by 2025.
GlobalData
www.globaldata.com
Filed Under: Policy, Projects
