UK solar installations by region: what the DESNZ figures show
Updated 23 October 2026 · SEO Dons Editorial
What did DESNZ publish on solar installations by region?
On 27 August 2026 DESNZ published its first regional breakdown of solar deployment. It said nearly 172,000 solar installations had been fitted across the UK since the start of 2026, and that nearly 28,000 were completed in July 2026 across homes, businesses and larger-scale projects. It named five regions as the top five for solar deployment:
| Region | Installed in 2026 to July | Total installations | Rise since last July |
|---|---|---|---|
| South East | 22,628 | 305,101 | 14% |
| South West | 17,539 | 271,400 | 13% |
| East of England | 18,109 | 241,195 | 15% |
| East Midlands | 15,981 | 182,606 | 17% |
| North West | 15,927 | 186,253 | 16% |
The same release says installations rose in every UK nation and English region over the last 12 months, with Wales up 18%, Scotland up 14% and the North East up 11%. It gives no counts for those three, or for Yorkshire and the Humber, the West Midlands or Northern Ireland. The Wales and Scotland pages cover those two nations.
Of the eight areas with a published 12-month rise, Wales (18%) and the East Midlands (17%) grew fastest and the North East (11%) slowest. A percentage rise from a smaller base can look larger than the same number of extra installations in a bigger region, so growth rates are not a ranking of opportunity.
By simple addition, the five named regions account for 90,184 of the installations fitted so far this year, which is just over half of the UK figure. That is this page's arithmetic on DESNZ's numbers, not a DESNZ statistic.
Do these counts show commercial rooftop uptake?
No. An installation count treats a home roof and a warehouse roof alike, and homes make up much of it. DESNZ said two-thirds of the installations in March 2026 were new panels on homes, and that rooftop solar accounted for more than 7 in 10 installations in July. The HTML pages read for this article state no commercial share, and none is calculated here.
Two UK-level figures give scale. DESNZ's 30 April 2026 release said solar capacity rose by 11.7% over the past year, adding 2.3 GW, and that more than 27,000 installations were completed in March 2026, with the UK total passing two million. Neither figure splits by region or by building type.
Where are regional capacity and site counts published?
Mostly in files rather than on web pages. DESNZ's Regional Renewable Statistics page says its tables cover the number, installed capacity and generation of renewables for the devolved administrations and the regions of England, and it lists a local authority table for 2014 to 2025. The page was last updated on 29 September 2026 with the 2025 data. The monthly solar deployment table is a spreadsheet too.
| Dataset | What DESNZ says it covers | Cadence | Format | Used here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar PV deployment (table ET 6.3) | Deployment of all solar PV capacity in the UK | Monthly, last Thursday, a month in arrears | Excel and ODS | No |
| Regional Renewable Statistics: installed capacity, number of sites, generation | Devolved administrations and English regions | Annual, latest 29 September 2026 | Excel | No |
| Renewable electricity by local authority, 2014 to 2025 | Local authority level | Annual | Excel | No |
| Regional renewable electricity in 2025 (Energy Trends feature) | Regional summary | Annual | No | |
| Regional solar breakdown press release | Installations for five regions | One-off, 27 August 2026 | Web page | Yes |
This page quotes only figures stated on web pages, so there is no table of regional capacity or site counts here, and the web pages read do not state a size-band split. Anyone who needs them can open the files from the Regional Renewable Statistics page. The next deployment release, "Solar PV deployment: October 2026", is confirmed for 26 November 2026 at 9:30am.
What do MCS and Ofgem data add?
Less than their names suggest for commercial roofs. MCS says its scope for electrical technologies such as solar PV is up to 50 kW, and that it is a voluntary scheme, so it does not capture every small-scale installation. Its data dashboard analyses domestic installations. Ofgem's Feed-in Tariff page says the scheme closed to new applications from 1 April 2019, with limited exceptions.
A rooftop array above 50 kW installed after the Feed-in Tariff closed to new applications therefore falls outside both. DESNZ's deployment table is the one dataset in this set that says it covers all solar PV capacity, which is why its spreadsheets matter even though they are not reproduced here.
How should a business use regional figures?
As context, not a decision. Installation counts mix homes, businesses and larger projects, so a high count does not mean an easier commercial roof, and a low count does not mean a worse one. What a roof earns depends on its yield, its use of the power and the grid connection. The regional yield page and the payback by region page cover the first two, and the network capacity page covers the third. The commercial PV installations guide sets out what happens between survey and commissioning, and readers who want a roof looked at can send an enquiry through the quote form.
Sources
- GOV.UK (DESNZ): First regional solar breakdown as installations hit record highs, published 27 August 2026, checked 22 October 2026.
- GOV.UK (DESNZ): Britain embraces solar revolution following war in Iran, published 30 April 2026, checked 22 October 2026.
- GOV.UK (DESNZ): Energy Trends: UK renewables, last updated 8 October 2026, checked 22 October 2026.
- GOV.UK (DESNZ): Regional Renewable Statistics, last updated 29 September 2026, checked 22 October 2026.
- GOV.UK (DESNZ): Solar PV deployment: October 2026, release announcement, checked 22 October 2026.
- MCS: Data requests and MCS Data Dashboard, checked 22 October 2026.
- Ofgem: Feed-in Tariffs (FIT), checked 22 October 2026.
Method: figures are copied as published. No figure was read from a spreadsheet or PDF. The 90,184 total, the "just over half" description and the fastest and slowest growth comparison are this page's arithmetic on published numbers.
Common questions
Which region has the most solar in the UK?
Among the five regions DESNZ named in August 2026, the South East has the most installations, at 305,101. That counts installations of every size and type. The release gives no capacity ranking, and regional capacity sits in a DESNZ spreadsheet.
Is there a public figure for commercial rooftop solar by region?
Not on the web pages read for this article. DESNZ's regional release counts all installations, MCS covers up to 50 kW and mainly domestic work, and the Feed-in Tariff closed to new applications in 2019. DESNZ's spreadsheets may hold more, and they are linked above.
What is the difference between an installation count and capacity?
A count gives a home roof and a large rooftop array the same weight of one. Capacity, in kilowatts or megawatts, weights each by size, so it is the better guide to scale. DESNZ publishes regional capacity in spreadsheet form.
When is the next DESNZ solar deployment release?
DESNZ lists Solar PV deployment: October 2026 for 26 November 2026 at 9:30am. It says the monthly table is published on the last Thursday of the month and runs a month in arrears.