Tuesday 22 April 2025

The UK is experiencing a solar boom, with the first quarter of 2025 proving the strongest start to a year for certified solar PV installations on homes and businesses in more than a decade.  

According to data from the MCS Data Dashboard, there were more than 57,000 certified installations of rooftop solar PV across the first three months of the year. This is the highest figure for the first quarter of a year since 2012, when the feed-in tariff regime was driving exceptional demand.  

In March alone, there were more than 21,000 MCS certified solar PV installations, which is the highest figure for a single month since December 2015. This follows a recent record for total solar generation in the UK, which saw solar power generate 12.7 gigawatts of power on Sunday 6 April, equivalent to the generating capacity of four Hinkley C nuclear power stations, beating the previous high that was set in the same week.  

It also means there have now been more than 1.7 million total MCS certified installations of solar PV, the majority of them on homes.  

The coming into effect of revised buildings regulations that require higher energy efficiency standards – so-called ‘Part L’ rules – have helped drive the rise in solar panels. In the last quarter of last year, more than four in ten new homes included solar panels. In March 2025, more than a third of all certified solar PV installations were on new builds. If the Government maximises solar panels on all new homes under the anticipated Future Homes Standard, due to be legislated this year, that could boost solar panel installations even further.  

David Cowdrey, Director of External Affairs at The MCS Foundation, said, “The UK’s solar boom is good news for the climate, for grid flexibility, and for energy bills.   

“As our research shows, the savings from solar panels become especially significant when combined with other household renewables, such as heat pumps and batteries. Together, these technologies are essential for getting homes off fossil fuels.  

“Maximising the amount of solar installed on rooftops under the Future Homes Standard, and ensuring that installations are carried out to MCS standards, would capitalise on rising consumer confidence in renewables and would be a very welcome step.”  

Gemma Grimes, Director of Policy and Delivery at Solar Energy UK added: “The newbuild sector is becoming more and more important as a driver for growth in smaller-scale solar energy installations. The sector accounted for more than a third of the market last month. But retrofitting panels to existing homes and other buildings remains the largest segment, showing that the public is increasingly confident in the benefits that solar technology brings to bills and the environment alike.”  

*Figures correct as of Tuesday 8 April