🇬🇧
Country guide

Solar in the United Kingdom

2026-04-25
last updated

The UK has a mature solar regulatory framework: VAT zero-rating on residential installations (extended to 2027), no central export tariff but a Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) requiring all licensed energy suppliers to offer export rates, and tight MCS certification requirements.

Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)

Since January 2020, all licensed energy suppliers with 150,000+ customers must offer an SEG export tariff to small-scale generators (≤5 MW). Tariffs vary widely between suppliers — Octopus Outgoing has historically offered the highest rates.

Authoritative source: Ofgem SEG. Per-supplier tariffs must be checked on each supplier's website — there is no central tariff register.

VAT and other reliefs

  • VAT 0% on residential solar PV, batteries, heat pumps until March 2027
  • Permitted development for most rooftop installs (no planning permission needed in England, with limits)
  • MCS certification required for installer to qualify customers for SEG

Balcony solar

No formal "balcony solar" regime exists in the UK. Plug-in solar systems technically require G98 (≤3.68 kW per phase) or G99 notification to the DNO. Practical adoption is low compared to DE/IT/NL.

Useful tools for UK users