The UK’s installed capacity of solar power expanded rapidly over the past decade to reach 17.2 gigawatts (GW) in 2024 – enough electricity to power roughly 4 million homes. The government aims to raise solar generation capacity to 70 GW by 2035. And by 2050, the government’s advisers estimate that as much as 90 GW of solar power may be needed to achieve net zero emissions.
Building solar farms – large-scale installations of solar panels on agricultural land – will have to be done carefully, to avoid exacerbating another environmental crisis: the dwindling variety of wildlife, or biodiversity.
