Solar panel sales in the UK have surged as households seek cheaper energy amid a continuing political battle over net zero.
Government rules on “plug-in” solar panels are to change this summer, which is expected to cause an extended boom in sales of home power generation.
Low-cost panels fitted on balconies or outdoor spaces can provide homes with free solar power directly through a mains socket. More than 250,000 rooftop panels were installed last year, a 37 per cent increase on 2024 and equivalent to a new panel going up every two minutes.
Industry insiders say demand has already increased this year, partly as a result of the rise in energy prices during the US-Iran war. Good Energy, the UK’s largest renewable energy supplier, recorded a 91 per cent increase in solar panel sales between February and March this year.
The company believes the surge was driven by concerns over inflated prices caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
“People are voting with their feet and their wallets. But there's a bit of a contrast between that and the political debate,” said chief executive Nigel Pocklington.
“In terms of homeowners and businesses, [the energy crisis] has sparked a significant increase in interest in an actual buying of solar panels.
“Our sales increased 50 per cent in a month. It has driven very strong consumer demand for solar and storage systems. That's what you'd expect.”
Election battleground
Net zero could become a major battleground during the next general election, as the UK faces its third energy price surge in six years.
The government has seen growing calls to scrap its net-zero targets in favour of increased use of North Sea gas. Energy prices in Britain are twice those paid in most of Europe, and are projected to rise further due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Former health secretary Wes Streeting became the latest critic of Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s net-zero strategy, echoing former prime minister Tony Blair’s calls to keep drilling for gas in the North Sea.
Mr Miliband has reduced oil and gas production and banned further exploration, leaving the UK reliant on imports to meet its energy needs and vulnerable to international shocks.
The UK’s wind farms generate more power than the grid can currently hold, forcing the government to pay up to £1 billion ($1.32 billion) to turn wind turbines off in the past two years, according to the National Energy System Operator.
That cost is expected to rise to £8 billion by 2030, and would fall only when the grid is upgraded after 2031.
But there are signs that Western Europe’s growing wind and solar farm capacity is reshaping electricity markets.
On Saturday, the UK’s power prices fell below zero for the first time since late April due to strong wind and solar generation, reaching minus £25 a megawatt-hour, according to Epex Spot data.
An Atlantic storm forecast for the end of the week could drive up wind speeds across the UK, Germany, Poland and the Benelux countries, according to Bloomberg.
Wind generation across the country is expected to average 13 gigawatts on Saturday, and solar will contribute about 4.4 gigawatts, meaning the two sources will meet about two thirds of power demand. Day-ahead prices settled at £19.40 a megawatt-hour, the lowest in two months.
This will be followed by a heatwave, allowing for an overlap of strong wind and solar generation in Western Europe, according to analysis from MetDesk’s Richard Martin-Barton.
Europe is experiencing an increase in periods of abundant renewable energy generation that push prices below zero, but it suffers from grid constraints and limited storage capacity to absorb the excess power.
While Spain has recorded more than 500 hours so far this year, the UK has logged only about 50.
Last year, global investments in clean energy reached a record $2.3 trillion, but progress has stalled in implementing the transition, according to the World Economic Forum's Energy Transition Index 2026.
The research, published on Thursday, indicated that investment alone “is no longer enough to sustain momentum” as conflicts and supply chain disruptions hinder infrastructure upgrades.
Energy shields
Advocates of green energy say wind and solar are the most effective ways to protect from international shocks that send oil and gas prices surging.
Mr Pocklington said he did not oppose using North Sea oil and gas, but warned that this would not bring down energy prices significantly in the long term.
“I don’t think we should be utterly ideological about this. If there are extractual resources that can reduce our need for energy imports by even if two tankers a month or a week, it’s worth doing,” he said.
“It just won't make that much of a difference to energy prices in the UK, because there's just not enough there. The real long-term solution for this is a massive-continued investment in renewables.”
Mr Pocklington was optimistic that the polarisation over net zero would be short-lived, overshadowed by people’s energy needs.
“You can quite quickly take net zero and energy policy straight back out of the culture wars,” he said.
Home-grown energy “just makes commercial and environmental sense for a lot of people. Who wouldn't want to cut their energy bills, who wouldn't want to feel that they were kind of generating clean and home growing power?”
