MCS Foundation launches new strategy to focus on cutting costs of renewables and simplifying consumer journey

Monday 26 October (London): The MCS Foundation has today launched a new five-year strategy setting out its plans to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy in UK homes by making the transition to low- carbon homes easier to navigate, more affordable, and more trustworthy. 

The launch comes as the UK continues to see rapid growth in small-scale renewable energy installations, like solar panels and heat pumps, with an MCS certified installation now taking place every 74 seconds. However, more than 23 million UK homes still rely on gas heating, and high electricity prices undermine the financial case for switching to clean heating for many. 

The Foundation’s new strategy, So Every Home Benefits, identifies three priorities for addressing these challenges: 

• Providing clarity: making it easier for households to understand their options and choose renewable energy systems that work for their homes.  

• Unlocking affordability: working to bring down the costs of installing and running renewable technologies, including through its campaign to cut the cost of electricity and new work to explore how battery storage systems can cut household bills.  

• Building trust and confidence: ensuring there are high industry standards and strong consumer protections, including through the Foundation’s oversight of MCS, the UK’s quality mark for small-scale renewables like solar panels and heat pumps.  

The MCS Foundation was established in 2018 to oversee MCS (the Microgeneration Certification Scheme), which sets and maintains standards for installers and products; and provides consumer protection. Since then, the Foundation’s work has expanded to include grants, research, advocacy, and action-oriented programmes.  

Dr Garry Felgate, CEO of the MCS Foundation, said: “More households than ever are choosing to generate their own energy and move away from fossil fuels. But millions of people are still missing out on the benefits of cleaner, more affordable and more efficient homes. 

“The biggest barriers are clear. Too often, the costs of switching to renewable energy don’t stack up for households. People are faced with confusing information, and many remain uncertain about the quality and performance of the technologies available. 

“We want to make it easier for people to understand the choices available to them, ensure that switching to renewable energy makes financial sense, and give households confidence that they are investing in quality systems. Working alongside industry, government and our partners, we want to accelerate the transition to home-grown energy so that every household can share in the benefits.” 

Professor Mary Ethna Black, Chair of the MCS Foundation, said, “‘In the face of today’s rising energy costs and the climate energy, a carbon-free future is vital – for our communities, our national energy security, and our planet. 

At the MCS Foundation, we believe in a future where everyone has access to reliable and affordable energy. Our new strategy will help us to accelerate progress toward this goal, by expanding our influence, initiatives and impact. Most importantly, it will benefit people across the country by creating more homes that are comfortable to live in, improving consumer protection and reducing fuel poverty.”