Scotland has broken two new solar energy milestones.

The country has been praised for installing more than 200MW of solar capacity and for being home to 50,000 different arrays, according to new statistics from WWF Scotland and the Solar Trade Association (STA) Scotland.

Around 49,000 of the locations are households, with the remainder of panels installed at businesses.

Almost 200 community-led solar schemes also now exist in Scotland, providing 2MW of green energy.

Although the country saw solar energy grow by 30MW to 209MW (17%) last year, it was still the smallest year-on-year increase since 2011.

The WWF and STA praised the green milestones being achieved but urged the Scottish Government to continue supporting the industry to maintain growth at stronger levels.

WWF Scotland Director Lang Banks said: “While it’s good news that Scotland is now home to a record number of solar power installations, it’s worrying that the rate of growth in this cheap, climate-friendly technology appears to be slowing.

“The UK Government’s wrong-headed decision to slash support for solar earlier this year is the main reason more homes, businesses and schools haven’t taken up solar PV this year.”