While EPIA announced that European PV market were down 36% in 2014, the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) revealed that UK’s solar PV generation almost doubled in 2014.
EPIA said PV installations in Europe declined from 11GW in 2013 to just 7GW in 2014. The one European country to show improvement from 2013 to 2014 was the UK, which increased its installed capacity from 1.5GW to 2.3GW.
DECC’s UK Energy Statistics report for 2014 showed that solar PV energy generation increased by 93% in 2014 to 3.9TWh, the greatest increase among all renewable energy types compared to last year. The 3.9TWh figure represents approximately 6.1% of the UK’s total renewable energy generation in 2014, almost double the 3.8% share it recorded in 2013. The increase was particularly notable in Q4 2014 during which renewables contributed a record 22% of the UK’s total energy generation, up more than 4% on the 17.9% figure recorded in the corresponding quarter in 2013.
James Watson, CEO of EPIA, said: "It's great to see a thriving solar market in the UK, as it proves solar energy's versatility to be a success in a country famous for its 'mild' climate. … At a time, solar power has lower cost than retail and often even commercial electricity, it is hard to understand why governments are not pushing much harder to tap the technology's potential as the European Union is looking for sustainable and secure energy supply.”
Oliver Schäfer, EPIA President, said: "The European solar companies are ready for much more, but we need a stable regulatory framework. … "Solar is now a predictable source of energy - and European policy makers simply have to understand that and design an energy system based on solar power."