March sees sharp rise in small-scale renewable energy installations across the UK

More than 31,000 small-scale renewable energy systems were certified in March, making it the most active month of 2025 so far, according to new data from MCS.

The figures show a 49% increase in installations compared with March 2024, with significant growth in solar panels, heat pumps and battery storage systems. Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels accounted for the majority, with 22,599 systems installed last month—up 49% on the same period last year and 18% higher than in February. This brings the total number of certified solar PV installations in the UK to more than 1.7 million.

Battery storage also saw a new monthly record, with nearly 3,000 systems certified. This marks a 147% rise compared with March last year and breaks the previous monthly record set in February. The cumulative number of certified battery storage installations has now exceeded 33,000.

Heat pump uptake continued its steady rise, with 5,604 certified installations in March—a 22% increase from the same month in 2024. The increase comes amid ongoing efforts to encourage the use of low-carbon heating solutions, including the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Ian Rippin, CEO of MCS, says:

“It’s great to see that the number of people adopting low-carbon alternatives is continuing to grow month on month, a positive step towards helping the UK achieve its net zero targets. With this growth, it is crucial to focus on ‘delivered quality’ to ensure consumers have growing confidence when investing in home-grown energy. This is what the redeveloped MCS will achieve, putting consumer protection at the heart of what we do.”

MCS operates the UK’s official certification scheme for small-scale renewables and publishes data through its MCS Data Dashboard, which tracks installations nationwide.

For near-real-time updates on renewable installations, you can sign up for free to The MCS Data Dashboard here.