World Bank report states that solar power has minimal potential to produce electricity in the UK

RHODA WILSON

Solar panels use photovoltaic (“PV”) technology which converts sunlight directly into electricity.   Even for those who have no understanding of how the technology works, we know that to convert sunlight into energy, at the very least sunlight is required; something the UK lacks.

Yet, according to Wikipedia, 12 large-scale solar projects are proposed, approved or under construction across England and Wales. For example, the Cleve Hill Solar Park in Kent is under construction, while the Cottam Solar Project in Lincolnshire has been approved. Additionally, the Llanwern Solar Farm in Newport, Wales, has been operational since 2021. And Shotwick Solar Farm in Flintshire, Wales, ahs been operational since 2016.

For those in Government and their collaborators such as climate crisis activists who think “green” technology, including solar power, will provide the UK with the power the country needs,  a report published by the World Bank in 2020 spells out the basics that climate catastrophists are choosing to ignore.

The World Bank’s report titled ‘Global Photovoltaic Power Potential by Country’ evaluated and mapped three types of PV power potential – theoretical, practical, and economic potential – for each country or region in the world.  The results of the evaluation begin on page 24 of the report.  We have used the results section of the report as the basis for the text that follows.

Theoretical Potential of Solar Power

The theoretical potential of solar power is determined by the long-term distribution of solar resource.  According to the report, the solar resource comes from two sources: global horizontal irradiation (“GHI”) and direct normal irradiation (“DNI”).

DNI is a measure of direct beam radiation that reaches the Earth’s surface, measured in a direction normal to the Sun’s rays.  It is the radiation received per unit area on a surface perpendicular to the sun and varies by location and time of year.

GHI refers to the shortwave solar radiation received by a horizontal surface.  It is the sum of DNI and Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance (“DHI”), which is the radiation scattered by the atmosphere and received on a horizontal surface, and ground-reflected radiation. The global pattern of GHI is determined mainly by geographic latitude, abundance of clouds, atmospheric aerosol concentration and moisture content.

The highest theoretical potential is found in arid tropics and subtropics, such as northern and southern Africa, the Middle East and Arabian Peninsula, and Australia.  From these conditions, it is obvious that the UK, which is in a temperate zone, will have a low potential for solar energy to be effective.

Maps included in the World Bank report confirm the common sense knowledge that the UK is among the lowest theoretical PV power potential in the world (see page 25 of the report).

The report highlights that no PV technology can exploit the full theoretical potential of the solar resource and that the output is determined by various factors, including the configuration of the PV system, conversion efficiency of PV modules and temperature, which is why air temperature is an important factor in calculating the expected output from a PV system (“PVOUT”).

So, things are looking pretty bleak for UK residents if the Government persists in pursuing solar energy as the energy of the future.  This is demonstrated in another image the report contains on the practical potential of solar power.

Practical Potential of Solar Power

The practical PV potential is the estimated power output produced per unit capacity of the assumed PV system configuration, known as the PVOUT variable, which is measured in kWh/kWp and takes into account factors such as the configuration of the PV system, conversion efficiency of PV modules and shading and soiling of the modules.

The image below shows what the report refers to as ‘Level 0’ of the practical PVOUT as no limitations, such as the development and operation of solar PV power, have been taken into consideration.  Level 1 practical output potential are areas without identifiable physical or technical obstacles. Level 2 practical output potential excludes additional areas potentially unsuitable due to nature protection or cropland conservation regulations. As expected, the UK is among the lowest maximum practical solar output (Level 0) in the world.

Things do not improve for the UK when practical limitations are accounted for.  The UK has the lowest practical solar output for both Levels 1 and 2.

Towards the end of the subsection on the practical potential of solar power, the report ranks countries based on their Level 1 practical PV potential (page 29 of the report).  The report ranks the UK at the bottom of the list.  The bottom four from highest to lowest are: the Isle of Man, Norway, the United Kingdom and Ireland.  The report stated:

Around 20% of the global population lives in 70 countries boasting excellent conditions for PV, where long-term daily PVOUT averages exceed 4.5 kWh/kWp. Countries in the MNA region and Sub-Saharan Africa dominate this category, accompanied by Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Chile, Iran, Mexico, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru and many nations of the Pacific and Atlantic islands.

At the lower end of the ranking, 30 countries accounting for 9% of the global population score an average PVOUT below 3.5 kWh/kWp, dominated by European countries – except those in southern Europe – and also including Ecuador and Japan.

Finally, countries in the favourable mid-range between 3.5 and 4.5 kWh/kWp account for 71% of the global population. These include five of the six most populous countries (China, India, the United States, Indonesia, and Brazil) and 100 others (Canada, the rest of Latin America, southern Europe, and African countries around the Gulf of Guinea, as well as central and southeast Asia).

Global Photovoltaic Power Potential by Country, Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP), The World Bank, June 2020, pg. 32

Economic Potential of Solar Power

The economic potential describes how much it costs to produce a unit of energy compared to other energy generation sources.

 The report estimated the levelised cost of energy or electricity (“LCOE”) in 2018.  The report’s authors found that capital expenditure (“CAPEX”) plays a significant role in the LCOE.

The UK is somewhere in the middle, at around $0.16/kWh (shown as “16” on the colour chart in the image below).  Bear in mind, this is for a country where the potential for solar power to produce electricity is among the lowest in the world. The same pattern is seen in other countries with less promising PV potential.  The lower the potential the higher the cost.

Why is the UK pursuing expensive solar energy for which it is known that it will not work in the UK?   It cannot be ignorance. Government officials cannot be so ignorant as to think the more money it throws at it and the more farmland it acquires to erect solar farms, the more chance the inherent problems with using solar power will magically disappear.

It could be stupidity.  But then it would require hundreds of stupid people not just in the Government but also in its advisors, civil service and throughout the House of Commons and House of Lords. Considering the number of stupid people required all “in one place” at the same time, it’s unlikely due to stupidity.

There can be only one conclusion:  The energy security of the UK is deliberately being sabotaged and destroyed by the “green” agenda and its climate emergency activists.  This is a deliberate plan in line with the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Featured image: Larks Green Solar Farm, Gloucestershire, England.  Source: The 7 largest solar farms in the UK, 16 January 2025

••••

The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)

••••

Comment Policy: As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, or personal/abusive attacks on other users. This also applies to trolling, the use of more than one alias, or just intentional mischief. Enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of this websites administrators. Repeat offenders may be blocked or permanently banned without prior warning.

••••

Disclaimer: TLB websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.

••••

Disclaimer: The information and opinions shared are for informational purposes only including, but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material are not intended as medical advice or instruction. Nothing mentioned is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Liberty Beacon Project.