Ground-mount Solar PV installations within UK fell in Q2 2013: Solarbuzz

The ground-mount solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in the UK during the second quarter (Q2) ended 30 June 2013 has declined by 46%, according to Solarbuzz, a solar market research and analysis firm.

The decrease in the installations was driven by the reduction of Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) incentives, which was effective from 1 April 2013.

According to the Solarbuzz research, there is an excess of 1.5GW of ground-mount solar parks in the UK currently.

This was because of 106 new ground-mount solar PV installations with capacity in excess of 1MW-DC during the first half of 2013.

Out of 106 parks, 60 had a capacity in excess of 5MW, eight with 10MW and one with 34MW capacity.

The southern regions of England accounted for 67% of the total large-scale solar PV parks installed, while the mid-eastern regions accounted for 27% and the reminder by rest of England and Wales.

When compared to the Q1 2013, when the demand for solar PV installations was 520MW, its demand fell down to 282MW in the latest quarter.

The slowdown was also impacted by the entry of Chinese modules into Europe, prior to the European Commission ruling at the start of August.

The strength of the ground-mount pipeline, however, will ensure that the UK will retain the top-10 market ranking for 2013 and beyond.