‘An Extraordinary Achievement’: 2026 Set for Record Rooftop Solar Take-Up

Growing at extraordinary pace, the rooftop solar energy industry has already installed more rooftop solar energy systems this year than across the whole of 2011 – which for nearly 15 years held the record for the most annual installations.

According to MCS, the UK’s quality mark for small-scale renewable energy systems, a total of 207,619 MCS certified installations have been recorded this year, exceeding the 203,697 seen in 2011. That year remained the annual record until it was exceeded dramatically last year, when annual installations rose to 269,195.

The annual record looks on course to be broken again. Assuming that the current trend holds, around 300,000 homes, businesses, village halls, schools and other buildings will have solar panels fitted before the year is over.

Commercial-scale installations, such as those on warehouses, supermarkets and factories, are outside of MCS’ purview and not included in its numbers. They are challenging to track, as they are also outside of the development planning system.

Record Rooftop Solar

2026 has already set several other solar records:

• The highest number of MCS certified installations ever seen in a single month was recorded in March, at 28,861, with July and June following just behind at 28,489 and 28,200, respectively.
• Solar power supplied 14.4% of Great Britain’s power in July, a new monthly record. It was up from 9.6% a year earlier.
• A new solar generation record was set in May, at 14.4 gigawatts – enough to boil 4.8m kettles at the same time.

There are now more than 2.1m MCS certified solar systems in the UK, which have a generation capacity of up to 50 kilowatts. Their average capacity is around a tenth of that limit, with solar homes typically carrying with 3-5kW of solar panels.

It took more than 10 years, from January 2009 until July 2019, to register the first million certified installations. The second million was achieved in just 7 years, in April 2026.

The accelerating pace of installations has been driven by several factors, including a combination of households and businesses keen to cut their energy bills and stricter energy efficiency requirements for newbuild properties.

Given the current trajectory, there could be 3 million small-scale installations in only three years’ time.

Rising Demand

Earlier this year, the spike in energy prices driven by the Iran War led to a surge in demand for solar power. The uptick in consumer inquiries in the spring is clearly translating into action.

Solar Energy UK Chief Executive Chris Hewett

Chris Hewett, Chief Executive of Solar Energy UK, said: “It’s no wonder that such unprecedented numbers of people are going solar. Energy bills remain high, driven by the UK’s longstanding dependence on expensive natural gas. Adding a solar installation is a quick and highly effective way to cut bills for good.”

“I hesitate to make predictions but we look odds-on to reach 300,000 rooftop installations this year, the overwhelming majority of which are mounted on homes. That would be an extraordinary achievement, considering that only 21,200 were installed over the whole of 2020. Nowadays, such a figure would look like a slow month,” he added.

Lisa Cooke, Managing Director of MCS, said: “It’s great to see that solar continues to break records across the UK, building on the momentum of a record-breaking 2025. More people than ever have the confidence they need to make the transition to home-grown energy and are putting their trust in MCS certified products and installers to do so.

“We take that responsibility seriously, and it’s why we have redeveloped our Scheme to go even further to protect households and empower even more people across the UK to transform the way they heat and power their homes and become more energy resilient in the years to come,” she added.

Newbuild Solar

A significant driver of growth in the residential solar market is newbuild properties. According to government figures for England alone, a total of 55,773 new homes were built with solar panels fitted in the first half of the year – 58% of the 98,222 newly built in that period.

In England, more than half of all MCS certified solar installations so far this year were on new-build properties.

The figures have been rising steadily for some years, accelerating lately due to the need to comply with the ‘Part L’ energy efficiency requirements that were introduced under the Building Regulations in 2022. In 2021, only 16% of newbuild homes came with solar panels pre-installed, rising to 42% in the last quarter of 2024.[5]

Equivalent figures for non-domestic buildings are unavailable.

“The newbuild market has become a central part the rooftop solar industry. Its importance will no doubt grow further with the forthcoming introduction of the Future Homes Standard and Future Buildings Standard, which all but mandate the installation of rooftop solar panels in England. Wales is going even further by making solar panels a ‘functional requirement’ for new buildings from March, extending to new roofs and renovations a year later,” Hewett added.

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