PVTIME – According to data from the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), which tracks annual rooftop renewable deployments, the UK has set a new sector record with 206,682 rooftop solar PV installations in 2025, taking the total number of certified small-scale solar systems across the country to 1.85 million.
Picture: MCS
New-build developments have been a key growth driver, increasing their share of rooftop solar installations from 32% in October 2023 to 35% in the first 11 months of 2025, highlighting their growing importance in the UK’s energy mix. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband noted the unprecedented public demand for solar panels as a means of reducing energy bills, and emphasised the government’s commitment to introducing the Future Homes Standard (FHS), which will require most new properties to have rooftop solar panels, thereby accelerating the adoption of distributed solar energy.
2025’s figures mark the fifth consecutive year of year-on-year growth for rooftop solar. MCS data reveals significant geographic variation, with Somerset (3,741 installations) and Cornwall (3,726 installations) leading the way, followed by North Yorkshire (2,780 installations), County Durham (2,668 installations), and Wiltshire (2,545 installations) in the top five.
MCS also reported a 122% surge in battery energy storage system installations in the first nine months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Market analysts Pexapark describe the UK as a leader in co-located solar plus storage projects, due to the flexibility of its Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. This view is supported by BW ESS CEO Erik Strømsø, who, in an interview with Solar Power Portal earlier this year, described the UK storage market as highly mature.
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