More than 43,101 homes and 850 business premises in Scotland now have solar power panels installed – an increase of 28% over the past 12 months.
Solar capacity currently stands at 179 MW, with North Ayrshire providing 4.4MW through 1,110 solar installations; more than neighbouring authorities East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, Inverclyde and Renfrewshire.
According to the Energy Savings Trust, a typical home solar PV system could save over a tonne of carbon dioxide per year – more than 30 tonnes over its lifetime.
Commenting, Kenneth Gibson MSP said:
“It’s great to see the use of solar power continue to grow here in North Ayrshire as Scotland moves towards a low carbon economy.
“The SNP Government is very keen to encourage the development and roll-out of renewable energy technology and our new building regulations are an example of where Scotland is leading the way – helping to increase the uptake of solar on thousands of new homes every year.
“This is very much in contrast to the scrapping of the Zero Carbon Homes target by the UK Government.
“However, as new homes make up a small fraction of our housing stock, it’s vital that we encourage the use of solar on existing buildings too and thanks to SNP Government grants and loan schemes, I am confident more and more people will chose to install solar panels on their home.”
WWF Scotland Director Lang Banks added:
“Although the total installed solar capacity is small when compared to wind energy, we should remember that collectively these solar panels are helping to prevent thousands of tonnes of climate-damaging emissions being emitted every year.”
To find out more about solar energy and the assistance you can receive to install solar at your home or business, please contact Home Energy Scotland free on 0808 808 2282 or at www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/home-energy-scotland
