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UK adds record solar installations as households respond to higher fuel costs
Great Britain recorded 142,536 solar installations in the first six months of 2026 and is on track to exceed last year’s total, helped by grants for replacing gas boilers and higher heat pump funding.
Great Britain has logged more new solar power installations in the first half of 2026 than in any six-month period since 2011, according to an analysis of government figures cited by the Guardian Business. The government data shows 142,536 solar installations from January through June, including both ground-mounted solar farms and rooftop systems.
The Guardian Business reports that the rooftop segment remains dominant, with most of the new installations occurring on household roofs. Even so, the smaller residential systems account for slightly less than a third of the country’s total solar power capacity.
Households are also responding through other energy upgrades, the report says. Applications for the boiler upgrade scheme reached 4,512 last month, up 21% versus June a year earlier.
The Guardian Business adds that the government raised heat pump grant funding by 20% last week, from £7,500 to £9,000, and that Andy Burnham has cut VAT on electricity bills starting in October, changes expected to make low-carbon heating cheaper. Separately, E.ON Next said it saw a 151% rise in the number of homes installing solar panels in the first half of 2026 versus the same period last year.