More than 50,000 households installed pv solar panels during the first three months of the year as the industry enjoyed its best quarter since 2016.
New data shows that surging energy costs and greater awareness of environmental issues prompted scores of homeowners to embrace renewable energy alternatives in early 2023.
Between January and March, 50,700 households installed rooftop solar panels, a 100% increase from twelve months ago.
Trade Association Solar Energy UK believes the latest spike has been partly caused by the “energy crisis”.
“The war in Ukraine has driven energy bills higher and there has been a greater awareness that solar panels can help to save on costs,” Solar Energy UK spokesperson, Gareth Simkins noted.
Homes with solar panels are also better for the environment and can play a key role in the much-needed switch to sustainable energy sources.
However, solar still only accounts for 4.4% of the UK’s electricity output.
A recent report published by Embers stated that the share of wind and solar needs to soar to 40% globally to hit a milestone of net zero emissions.
The latest increase in the UK is encouraging though, especially as the solar industry went through a challenging period after the government ended its Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) scheme.
The rooftop installs during the first quarter are now generating around 265 megawatts of power.
The number of battery storage systems installed also jumped to a quarterly record.
The latest figures were compiled from data submitted by solar panel installers registered to the micro-generation certification scheme (MCS).
