Figures published by the government today also show that nine of the ten best-performing months for solar additions were in the last year.
May 28, 2026
Figures from the UK government show that April this year saw 22,733 new solar PV installations, bringing the total solar capacity to 22.3GW.
April 2026’s added 107MW contributed to an 11.2% increase since April 2025, with 2.3GW added solar capacity across 12 months. Figures published by the government today also show that nine of the ten best-performing months for solar additions were in the last year, after March saw the UK reach over 2 million installations.
Over 50% of the new installations added during April 2026 were domestic rooftop PV. Government tracking shows that of the UK’s 269,000 total installations in 2025, around 255,000 were on rooftops. 
This means that 95% of all new solar was installed on rooftops last year. The government said this equates to a new rooftop system coming online every two minutes throughout 2025.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband said: “As we face a second fossil fuel crisis in five years, Britain is taking back control of their energy by generating more clean power than ever before. Record-breaking solar growth means greater energy security, lower exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets which we can’t control.”
Related:UK surpassed two million solar installations in March, government figures show
There has been an uptick in consumer interest in domestic renewable technologies in response to increasing energy bills caused by the conflict in the Middle East, with the government’s response to the energy crisis centring on the cost-saving benefits of renewable generation. That is even as the price cap for the coming summer period (July-September) is due to increase.
Solar trade body Solar Energy UK’s chief executive Chris Hewett commented: "These figures confirm what our members have been seeing on the ground: demand for solar is at an all-time high, and Britain's households and businesses are responding to the energy crisis by taking control of their own power bills.
Alongside the installation tracking, the government published an annual index of the cost of installing solar. Across all installation sizes the costs per kW fell in 2025.
The government’s figures are costs per declared net capacity, and adjusted for inflation. The median cost of 0-4kW installations decreased by 9%, of 4-10kW installations by 8% and of 10-50kW installations by 3% compared to 2024/25. 
Despite increasing demand, increased supply and technology advances have pushed down average prices, the government said. 
The larger an installation, the lower the cost per kW, but almost two-thirds of new installations in the 2025/26 analysis were domestic, 60% of which were 0-4kW in size. On average, non-domestic installations were lower cost than domestic, the government’s figures show.
Related:Domestic energy sources account for 53% of UK energy in 2025
Over 85% of domestic installations in the 2025/26 period were retrofitted, the remainder installed on new-builds, and as has been a consistent trend these are more expensive than installations on newly-built properties. This is partly why the government has mandated that from 2028 all new properties must have solar installed as standard.
Molly Green
Section Editor, Informa
Molly joined the team in 2024 and has led coverage on the UK sites. Now shifting to a more global view, Molly is interested in how legislation shapes market dynamics, covering the intersection of policy design, investment patterns, and energy transition pathways. 
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