The number of homes in Scotland with solar panels has more than doubled since before the energy crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to new analysis.
The analysis of Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) data by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) found that there are now 52 per 1000 Scottish households cumulatively with solar PV systems, compared to 44 per 1000 in England.
The figure north of the border has almost doubled since 2019 when it was 23 per 1,000 Scottish households.
The research found that in Aberdeenshire and Stirling, one in 10 homes now have solar panels.
Scottish households are voting with their feet
Analysis also found there has been strong growth in the installation of heat pumps, which has accelerated “sharply” in recent years with more than 17 air source heat pumps per 1,000 households cumulatively in Scotland, compared to around nine per 1,000 households in England.
Gas prices soared in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and energy prices also rose amid the Iran war this year.
Laura Anderson, senior associate at the ECIU said: “Scottish households are voting with their feet, increasingly seeing clean, net zero technologies like solar and electric heat pumps as a way of gaining more energy independence, stabilising bills and shifting dependence away from burning oil and gas.
“With a second energy crisis in a matter of years now looming over families, there’s clear evidence of interest in electrified technologies ramping up even further, including in electric vehicles with petrol prices so high.
“Unless households reduce their dependence on gas and petrol, bills will continue to be dictated by foreign actors like (Vladimir) Putin and (Donald) Trump.
“And with two thirds of Scots believing Britain should not follow Donald Trump’s call to increase oil and gas extraction and instead focus on increasing generation from renewable energy, we can probably expect this trend to continue.
“This in turn will spur growth in Scottish installation supply chains which contains high proportions of small businesses.”
Researchers said that heat pump growth is being driven in large part by rural and island communities.
They said that cumulatively the Hebrides and Orkney now have the highest heat pump installation rates of any local authority areas in Scotland or Wales.
Ian Rippin, chief executive at MCS, the UK’s quality mark for small-scale renewables, said: “It’s great to see an increasing number of Scottish households are investing in small-scale renewables to heat and power their homes.
“MCS certification has a key role to play in continuing to drive confidence as volumes rise, by providing assurance that technologies such as solar panels and heat pumps are installed to industry-recognised standards, and are underpinned by strong consumer protection.”