Powering the UK’s Solar Future

Darren Lewis | 13/6/2025

The Clean Power 2030 Summit rightly underscored the UK’s renewed urgency on scalable renewable energy. As someone overseeing ground‑mount solar operations and maintenance daily, I see firsthand the vital role robust O&M plays in ensuring this moment becomes a milestone, rather than just a moment.

O&M as the Silent Enabler

Solar farms don’t just generate electricity once installed, they must remain performant, safe, and efficient across decades. Inadequate O&M leads to avoidable downtime, erodes returns, and chips away at investor and community confidence. That hidden labour ultimately ensuring each panel and inverter hums, is central to turning “aspirations” into “actual megawatts.”

Tackling Fragmentation with Holistic Systems

A recurring challenge is managing fragmented operations: disparate contractors, ad‑hoc reporting, and delayed responses. In our experience, centralised, transparent systems are critical. They enable real‑time insights, proactive issue resolution, and leaner maintenance workflows that maximise ROI.

Infrastructure, The Ground You Stand On

The Summit spotlighted grid bottlenecks. While grid enhancements are crucial, we mustn’t overlook how ground‑mount assets interface with the local environment, from land use and access routes to vegetation and wildlife. Proactive planning and adaptive maintenance help avoid costly retrofits later in the project lifecycle, boosting both technical and social licence to operate.

Scaling Responsibly: Policy + Execution

Targets like the UK’s Net Zero and Clean Power 2030 goals are ambitious — but without practical, on‑the‑ground execution, they risk falling short. Sustainable success requires tightly coupling policy with delivery: streamlined permitting, community engagement, and rigorous operational standards that scale across regions.

Key Takeaways:

• O&M is not optional, it’s a core pillar in delivering reliable clean power.

• Efficient, centralised systems and proactive maintenance dramatically lift yield and reduce risk.

• Coordinated planning between grid, land use, ecology, and O&M ensures sustainable growth.

In short, scaling ground‑mount solar isn’t just about erecting panels, it demands the infrastructure and operations to sustain them. The Summit’s momentum is welcome, but the real test rests on how well we maintain what we build.