VIEWPOINT
THE SUPPLY CHAIN ROLE IN THE UK RENEWABLES BOOM
Alex Hughes, head of scheme at MCS.
WITH MORE RENEWABLES being installed into UK homes and small businesses than ever before in 2025, installers are increasingly focussed on delivering low-carbon technologies. Data from MCS
(Microgeneration Certification Scheme), the UK’s quality mark for small-scale renewables like solar panels and heat pumps, shows that 2025 is the best year in our history for certified installations across all technology types, and in October we surpassed the previous record set last year – 273,000. There have been more than 300,000 certified installations in 2025 alone. This includes:
• The best ever year for rooftop solar, beating the long-standing record set in 2011 - when demand spiked under the Feed-in Tariff. • Record numbers of battery storage installations – up more than 75% on 2024. • Surpassing 300,000 total heat pump installations. • More MCS certified installers than ever before, reaching almost 6,000 across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. MCS is at the forefront of this renewable revolution in the UK. With more people than ever putting their trust in home-grown energy, the market is an exciting opportunity for growth – for installers, manufacturers, and for the wider supply chain. In short, the demand for quality, affordable products like heat pumps and solar panels are continuing to accelerate at pace.
A mark of quality MCS has two main roles – setting and maintaining standards, and providing consumer protection. Our standards define how renewable energy technologies should be designed and installed
using MCS certified products. They are a benchmark for quality developed in close consultation with industry, by consulting our Technical Working Groups – made up of experts across the sector, from installers and manufacturers to certification bodies, trade associations, and consumer groups.
MCS certification is a route for consumers, installers, and manufacturers to access grants for renewable technologies, and, in many cases, is a requirement for accessing many UK government incentives.
Certifying quality products
As installation numbers increase, MCS certification ensures the products used in each installation is high-quality and efficient, as all MCS certified installers must use certified products in their installations. This makes them invaluable to the MCS Scheme and to the adoption of renewables throughout the UK. Further to this, MCS is embedded into a range of government schemes aimed at driving the adoption of low-carbon technology in the UK.
Product certification is a mark of quality that demonstrates compliance with UK regulations and helps manufacturers position their products at the forefront of the industry.
To get a product certified, manufacturers must: 1. Understand the requirements set out in the relevant MCS Product Standards (including MCS 010; relating to factory production control)
2.Apply to a product certification body 3.Undertake a product and factory audit with a certification body
If successful, the product January 2026
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will achieve certification and be added to the MCS Product Directory. This is a live catalogue of every MCS certified product across all technology types, and it is free to access at any time; for anyone.
A requirement for government schemes MCS is embedded in a wide range of government incentives: • The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), which offers grants of up to £7,500 towards the cost of an air source heat pump, or £5,000 towards the cost of a biomass boiler. • The Clean Heart Market Mechanism (CHMM) requires boiler manufacturers to increase their share of heat pump sales. • The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) allows solar panel owners to earn money for selling excess energy back to the grid. • Other incentives include the Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan and the Welsh Government’s Nest Energy Support Scheme.
Recent news from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has also announced that it plans to make MCS the sole certification scheme for government clean heat measures. This puts MCS at the forefront of clean heat in the UK and presets a unique opportunity for merchants to tap into a rapidly growing market – with many customers now needing to be MCS certified and use MCS certified products.
Driving improvements Following a review of our processes in 2023, we saw an opportunity to improve the sector by simplifying requirements, improving accessibility, and putting consumer protection and quality at its heart – in the
form of our Redeveloped Installer Scheme.
Installers will move over to the redeveloped Scheme in a transitionary phase throughout 2026, and with the journey to certified renewable energy reformed, we can expect to see the demand for a choice of quality products grow. With our installer Scheme undergoing these extensive changes, we also want to emphasise the importance of product certification in giving everyone confidence in home- grown energy. Because of this, MCS plans to start the process of reviewing the product Scheme to assess if there are any changes that should be made to help grow the industry throughout the UK.
An exciting opportunity
With the renewables landscape in the UK continuing to evolve, merchants play a more crucial role than ever in the transition to net-zero.
As the sector continues to grow, installers will be looking for MCS certified products to meet the demand for certified installers.
2026 and beyond will prove to be an exciting year for the MCS Product Scheme. As well as a future review of our processes, MCS will be working on developing Battery Storage, Thermal Energy Storage Systems (TESS), and Inverter Product Standards in collaboration with industry.
It is clear that the future of the renewables landscape in the UK is set to be a positive one, and one that merchants have a crucial role to play in as MCS continues to give everyone confidence in home-grown energy. BMJ
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