Distributed Generation Operation in an Islanded Network (Update): Final Report

Abstract:

The following analysis is an update of the study 'Distributed Generation Operation in an Islanded Network' (2015) performed by Ecofys. The first study focussed on the population of dispersed generation (DG) which was installed up to the end of 2013. At that time, more than 50% of the capacity of small DG in Great Britain (< 5 MW) were photovoltaic (PV) units. In 2014, based on an extrapolation of historical numbers, we estimated installed capacity of 3.9 GW at the end of 2015 for the PV segment. The following update provides additional quantitative numbers on the development of small PV systems (< 5 MW) up to the end of 2015. In addition, we compare them to the estimation from 2014 to assess which growth was actually realised.

Based on the analysis, we can conclude, that the realised installed capacity of small PV grew in line with our estimation from 2014. Although small PV almost doubled since 2013, PV units above 5 MW represents the largest share of the growth. By the end of 2015, the population of small PV units consisted of up to 830,000 units with an installed capacity of 4.2 GW and an average unit size of 5 kW.

1. Growth of small PV units in GB since 2013
   1. Data sources and general description
   2. Numbers and capacity per performance class for PV
   3. Geographical distribution
   4. Summary and Conclusions
2. Update on international experience

Publication Year:

2015

Publisher:

Ofgem

DOI:

No DOI minted

Author(s):

Ecofys