United Kingdom: Photovoltaic Installed Capacity Has Reached 21.8 GW.

Provisional data released by the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) indicates that by the end of January 2026, the nation's cumulative installed capacity of photovoltaic systems had reached 21.8GW, covering approximately 1.951 million systems. New installations for the month totaled 131MW, lower than the 339MW recorded during the same period in 2025 (data subject to revision).

According to statistics from the UK certification body MCS, the small-scale distributed PV market demonstrated robust performance. January saw 17,154 new small-scale systems (≤50kW) installed—the second-highest monthly figure on record, just 521 systems shy of the January 2025 peak. This indicates that the residential and rooftop PV markets have already begun heating up ahead of the formal implementation of the new subsidy policy.

However, achieving the UK government's target of at least 45GW of PV capacity by 2030 will still require vigorous promotion of rooftop PV installations and continued expansion of centralized PV project deployment.

Currently, the UK government has launched the “Warm Homes Plan,” proposing to invest approximately $20 billion to support PV and storage installations through cash subsidies and government-backed loans. Simultaneously, it plans to revise building regulations to mandate PV systems as standard equipment in new residential buildings in England. Furthermore, with numerous Contracts for Difference (CfD) projects nearing grid connection, utility-scale PV is expected to see significant volume growth in 2026. Currently, the UK has 23 CfD PV projects, three of which commenced operations in January 2026.

Although residential PV currently dominates in terms of system count, its installed capacity accounts for only about 30% of the national total. In contrast, the scale of CfD projects is growing rapidly, surging from 23 MW at the end of 2024 to 546 MW by the end of 2025. As the pace of grid connection accelerates further in 2026, their share of total installed capacity will increase substantially.

Although January's new installations showed a year-on-year decline, the UK's 2026 PV installation target remains on track to be achieved, supported by three key factors: policy incentives, robust residential market demand, and the concentrated grid connection of utility-scale projects.