UK sets battery record in May
Accreditation body MCS has reported a record month for new BESS in the United Kingdom in May.
The number of MCS certified battery energy storage installations in the month reached almost 3,400, up 112% on May 2024.
Launched in 2021, the MCS battery installation standard applies to systems with a maximum power output of up to 50 kW.
MCS also reported 21,125 installations of solar arrays with a generation capacity of up to 50 kW in the United Kingdom in May. That number, 30% higher than for May 2024, took the United Kingdom to 101,861 small-scale solar installations for the year to May 31, up 37% on the 74,459 recorded in the first five months of last year.
While MCS certification is not a legal requirement for small-scale solar installations, consumers can only access UK government incentives such as the Smart Export Guarantee via MCS-accredited systems, making it a good indicator of demand.
UK heat pump additions in May were more muted but the cumulative total did break the 300,000 barrier last month. MCS recorded 5,150 certified heat pump installations for the month, compared to 5,084 in May 2024. Despite flat growth year on year, 25,676 heat pump installations were recorded for the first five months of 2025, putting year-to-date growth at 13%, as of May 31. That remains well below the pace required to hit the UK government’s target of installing 600,000 heat pumps annually by 2028. More relaxed planning rules for heat pumps came into force in England on May 31 in a bid to support deployment.
Ian Rippin, chief executive at MCS said, in a press release, “It’s great to see us reaching crucial milestones in 2025 in the small-scale renewables sector, a positive sign that consumer confidence in home-grown energy is continuing to grow.”
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