THE LAST QUARTERLY DATA on small-scale solar PV installations shows that the three months to the end of March 2023 has seen the most projects completed since Q4 2015.

Latest figures from the MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) Data Dashboard show that 60,004 installations of solar PV, heat pumps and battery storage technologies, were completed in Q1 2023.

In March 2023 alone, MCS recorded a total of 20,868 installations, which was the highest performing March since 2012 and the second consecutive month in which the number of installations had exceeded 20,000.

Solar PV Installations

Solar PV technologies accounted for 85% of installations (50,719) in Q1 2023, the highest deployment since Q4 2015. The figure represents a 114% increase on the number of solar PV installations for the same period in 2022 (23,747). It is also a 94% increase on installations during the first quarter of 2019, which marked the end of the government Feed-in Tariff (FiT) incentive (26,089 installations during this period).

In particular, the number of solar PV installations in March 2023 (17,497) was 73% higher than March 2022 and represents the highest monthly deployment of the technology since December 2015, during the height of the FiT.

Heat Pumps

The uptake in heat pump technologies remains high since the launch of the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) in Spring 2022, which has now been extended to 2028.

There were 8,790 installations of heat pumps in the first three months of 2023, which makes it the second highest quarter for heat pumps in the scheme’s history. A total of 3,176 heat pumps were installed in March 2023, a 10% increase on the previous month and the third-most successful month for heat pump deployment on record.

Battery Installations

Battery storage enjoyed its best quarter for installations in the scheme to date, with 351 systems installed in total – over 50% of the scheme total (621 installations) to date. Battery storage is the newest installation standard that MCS has introduced for its certified contractors, reflecting consumers’ growing interest in self-consumption and electrical storage systems in combination with solar PV.

MCS Contractors

Overall, 449 new MCS certified contractors joined the scheme in Q1 2023, representing 13% of the 3,337 contractors on the scheme in total. The number joining the scheme in Q1 2023 is the highest in a quarter since 2011.

In Q1 2023, 359 contractors joined MCS to deliver solar PV, a 385% increase on the same period in 2022. Total heat pump contractors increased by 95 in the same period.

A total of 2,286 contractors are now certified to install solar PV, compared with 1,366 in Q1 2022 – a 66% increase.

Conversely, 1,494 contractors are now certified to design and install heat pump technologies, a 17% increase on Q1 2022.

Ian Rippin, CEO of MCS, said: “The year has got off to a remarkable start as our robust, near-real-time data demonstrates how we are playing a vital role in domestic decarbonisation.

“As more people look to decarbonise their homes, installation quality of small-scale renewables is vital, so it’s encouraging to see the record growth in MCS certified contractors. Solar PV deployment continues its exponential rise, as more talent enters the sector to service huge consumer interest in this cost-saving, proven, low-carbon technology.”

 

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