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Main Authors: Alghanem, Hussah, Buckley, Alastair
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.19243
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author Alghanem, Hussah
Buckley, Alastair
author_facet Alghanem, Hussah
Buckley, Alastair
contents Great Britain aims to meet growing electricity demand and achieve a fully decarbonised grid by 2035, targeting 70 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity. However, grid constraints and connection delays hinder solar integration. To address these integration challenges, various connection reform processes and policies are being developed [1]. This study supports the connection reforms with a model that estimates regional PV capacity at the NUTS 3 level, explaining 89% of the variation in capacity, with a mean absolute error of 20 MW and a national mean absolute percentage error of 5.4%. Artificial surfaces and agricultural areas are identified as key factors in deployment. The model has three primary applications: disaggregating national PV capacity into regional capacity, benchmarking regional PV deployment between different regions, and forecasting future PV capacity distribution. These applications support grid operators in generation monitoring and strategic grid planning by identifying regions where capacity is likely to be concentrated. This can address grid connection delays, plan network expansions, and resolve land-use conflicts.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_19243
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Modelling Regional Solar Photovoltaic Capacity in Great Britain
Alghanem, Hussah
Buckley, Alastair
Systems and Control
Great Britain aims to meet growing electricity demand and achieve a fully decarbonised grid by 2035, targeting 70 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity. However, grid constraints and connection delays hinder solar integration. To address these integration challenges, various connection reform processes and policies are being developed [1]. This study supports the connection reforms with a model that estimates regional PV capacity at the NUTS 3 level, explaining 89% of the variation in capacity, with a mean absolute error of 20 MW and a national mean absolute percentage error of 5.4%. Artificial surfaces and agricultural areas are identified as key factors in deployment. The model has three primary applications: disaggregating national PV capacity into regional capacity, benchmarking regional PV deployment between different regions, and forecasting future PV capacity distribution. These applications support grid operators in generation monitoring and strategic grid planning by identifying regions where capacity is likely to be concentrated. This can address grid connection delays, plan network expansions, and resolve land-use conflicts.
title Modelling Regional Solar Photovoltaic Capacity in Great Britain
topic Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.19243