291,000 Solar Installations in a Year, the Most Since 2012: Where They Went, and Why Batteries Are Following
There are now more than 2.1 million solar installations in the UK. Every nation and English region grew over the last year, with Wales, the North East and the West Midlands growing fastest. Batteries are close behind: MCS counted 36,000 certified battery installations in the first half of 2026, nearly double a year earlier, and 92% went onto homes that already had solar. Heat pumps went the other way.
By Energy Pages
The UK fitted 291,000 solar installations in the 12 months to the end of August 2026, according to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. That is the most in any 12-month period since 2012. The department’s August 2026 statistics, published on 29 September, put the total at 2,131,000 installations and 23.2 GW of capacity.
Most of them are on homes. In August 2026 alone, 17,285 of the month’s 24,154 new installations went onto a residential building. Over the last 12 months the department counts more than 1 GW of domestic solar across more than 195,000 homes.
Every region grew, and the smaller ones grew fastest
The department’s regional table counts installations by area. Measured from the end of August 2025 to the end of August 2026, every nation and English region grew. The North East, Wales and the West Midlands grew fastest, at more than 17% each, while London and Northern Ireland, which have the fewest installations, grew slowest.
| Area | Installed January to August 2026 | Growth over 12 months | Total, end of August 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| South East | 25,829 | 14.4% | 308,315 |
| East of England | 20,678 | 14.5% | 243,774 |
| South West | 19,983 | 12.8% | 273,856 |
| North West | 18,249 | 16.4% | 188,584 |
| East Midlands | 18,236 | 17.2% | 184,865 |
| Scotland | 17,854 | 13.7% | 231,442 |
| West Midlands | 15,894 | 17.4% | 163,229 |
| Wales | 14,777 | 18.2% | 146,665 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 14,385 | 14.9% | 162,372 |
| North East | 9,393 | 18.4% | 92,253 |
| London | 6,344 | 12.5% | 82,031 |
| Northern Ireland | 3,045 | 12.2% | 37,428 |
Two cautions sit under these figures. The regional split leaves out 12,675 installations made since January that the department has not yet placed in a region, so every area’s count is a floor. And the latest month is provisional: the department’s own note says it “is likely to be revised as further data are received”. The July figures it gave in its 27 August press release have already moved in this edition, so a figure quoted last month and a figure quoted this month will not always agree.
Batteries are following the panels
MCS, the certification scheme for small-scale renewables, publishes its own count of certified installations, which covers homes and small businesses rather than solar farms. Its figures for January to June 2026, published on 20 August, show where the money is going next:
- 210,000 certified installations of all kinds, up 17% on the previous best start to a year, in 2025
- almost 150,000 of them solar, up 14%
- 36,000 battery installations, nearly double the same period last year and close to the whole of 2025’s record of 40,000
- 92% of those batteries went onto homes that already had solar panels
- one installation in three either went onto a home that already had an MCS-certified technology or combined more than one in a single job
The pattern is panels first and a battery after, which is why the cost of adding storage to an existing system matters as much as the cost of the panels.
Heat pumps went the other way
The same MCS release reports heat pump installations 17% lower than in the first half of 2025. MCS says three quarters of heat pump installations are funded by government programmes such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Households heating with oil or LPG can now claim a higher grant of £9,000 under that scheme.
What changes for installers by March 2027
MCS also says every certified installer will have to work under its redeveloped scheme rules by 31 March 2027. Its managing director, Lisa Cooke, said those rules include “a higher level of financial protection and a legally binding commitment to adhere to consumer protection law”. For anyone getting quotes, it is one more reason to check an installer’s MCS certification before signing.
Read at source on 6 October 2026: the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s “Solar photovoltaics deployment in the UK - August 2026” (Energy Trends table ET 6.3, published 29 September 2026: commentary and Table 4, installations by region), its press release “First regional solar breakdown as installations hit record highs” (27 August 2026), and MCS’s “Record number of UK households combining renewables to improve energy resilience” (20 August 2026). Regional growth and January to August figures are calculated by Energy Pages from Table 4. The latest month is provisional and will be revised.