The UK has seen a significant increase in solar capacity over the past year, according to provisional figures released by the government.

As of the end of March 2023, the country’s installed solar capacity stands at 14.9GW, a 5.3% increase from the same time last year.

March 2023 alone saw 19,465 new installations, the largest number since December 2015, and accounting for 83 MW of capacity.

This surge in solar power comes after a sharp drop in installations in April 2020 due to pandemic-related lockdown measures, but the number of installations has since recovered and exceeded pre-pandemic levels.

Of the new installations in March, 86% were for domestic use, with 16,733 new domestic installations in total.

Last year saw nearly 112,000 domestic installations, the highest number since 2015.

This surge in domestic installations is a positive sign for the UK’s transition to renewable energy sources and a net zero future.

However, experts warn that more needs to be done to continue this trend and accelerate the country’s adoption of solar power.