UK Photovoltaics National Status Report 2007 (NSR 2007)
This annual status report gives an overview of the UK PV industry including an update on installed PV capacity, manufacturing, prices, employment figures, national programmes and policies and standards.
An executive summary of the UK PV NSR 2007 is presented below. Click here to download the full report (PDF file 174kB). Alternatively you may access previous years' reports here.
In summary, the key developments of the year 2007 were as follows:
The annual installed PV capacity in 2007 was 3810 kWp. This compares to 2700 kWp in 2005 and 3400 kWp in 2006. The cumulative installed PV generation capacity increased by 21 % during 2007 reaching a total of 18 MW. Government support through the Low Carbon Buildings Programme and other grants supported approximately 83% of the total new capacity. Figure 1 shows the cumulative installed PV capacity up to the end of 2007.
Figure 1: Cumulative installed PV capacity up to the end of 2007
Costs & prices
Average retail module prices are similar to those in 2006, typically around £3.6 per Wp for reasonable volume orders. For small orders (few modules) retail prices are around £3.8 per Wp. Minimum prices are slightly higher than in 2006, around £3.0 per Wp for polycrystalline modules imported from mainland Europe.
Overall system prices range considerably because they take into account the significant differences in the projects, the level of integration and technology used. On-grid installed prices ranged from £3.4 per W to £9.4 per Wp. However the average turnkey price for a standard 1-3 kWp system was £7.4 per Wp, compared to £6.3 per Wp in 2006.
Crystalox Limited, an operating subsidiary of PV Crystalox Solar plc is one of the world’s largest producers of multicrystal line silicon ingots, exporting to PV companies in Europe and Japan . In 2007 the company produced multicrystalline silicon ingots sufficient for 190 MW.
Sharp’s module assembly plant in Wrexham uses EVA lamination encapsulation and produced 124 MW of crystalline PV modules during 2007. The company doubled its production capacity during 2007 to 220 MW
Romag’s Building In tegra ted Photovoltaic (BIPV) lamination facility in Consett produced 4 MW in 2006. The facility doubled its capacity to 12 MW in 2007 with a further 16 MW under construction.
GB Sol based in Taffs Well, South Wales produced 0.5 MW of crystalline modules.
Epod Solar Wales in Bridgend produced 1.52 MW of amorphous silicon PV cells and modules in 2007. The Bridgend facility formally owned by ICP Solar Technologies was sold to EPOD in May 2007 and the company is now known as Epod Solar Wales.
Budgets for Pre-competitive R&D and Demonstration / Field Trials (supported by the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), The Northern Ireland Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) and The Engineering and Physical Science Research Council) totalled £17.6 million in 2007. This compares to a total of £15.03 million in 2006. A large proportion of this funding (£9.6 million) has been for the demonstration and field trial programmes, provided by BERR and DETI.