The number of rooftop solar PV installations in the UK has reached 206,682 so far in 2025, a record for the sector that brings the total number of certified small-scale solar installations in Britain to 1.85 million.
This is evident from the latest figures from the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), which has been monitoring annual installations of renewable energy on roofs for years. MCS notes that solar projects on the roofs of new construction have been “one of the key drivers” behind the growth; As of October 2023, solar deployment on new builds accounted for 32% of all rooftop solar installations, but this figure has increased to 35% in the first eleven months of 2025, indicating that this deployment is becoming an increasingly important part of the UK energy mix.
“The British people are showing record demand for solar panels because they know this is a slam dunk way to cut energy bills,” said Energy Minister Ed Miliband, referring to the Future Homes Standard (FHS), which makes rooftop solar energy mandatory for new constructionas a key accelerator of the distributed solar sector.
“That is why this government is committed to introducing the FHS so that the vast majority of new homes are supplied with solar energy from the moment they are built and every family living in these homes gets money from their bills.”
2025 was a record year for rooftop solar PV installations in Britain. Image: MCS.
The 2025 rooftop installation figures represent the fifth consecutive year of annual increases in rooftop solar deployment, as shown in the chart above. MCS figures also show significant geographical differences between deployments, with Somerset and Cornwall leading the country in installations, with 3,741 and 3,726 respectively. North Yorkshire (2,780), County Durham (2,668) and Wiltshire (2,545) make up the rest of the top five.
MCS also notes that the number of battery storage installations has increased – in the first nine months of the year the number of battery energy storage systems (BESS) installed was up 122% compared to the same period in 2024 – and market analyst Pexapark describes the UK market as a “frontrunner” for co-located solar-plus-storage projects due to the “flexible” nature of its Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme.
The growth of storage deployments follows comments from Erik Strømsø, CEO of BW ESS, who spoke to Solar Power Portal earlier this year about the UK’s storage spacewhich he described as “a very mature market”.
