MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme), the standards organisation for small-scale domestic renewable energy and heating across the UK, has published a report which shows Scotland is leading the way in home renewable installations.
In the Low Carbon Landscapes report, which recorded certified installations between March 2020 and December 2021, approximately 1.3% of all homes in Scotland installed renewable heating or energy technologies. In total 31,310 certified installations were recorded during this period. Seven of the top 10 areas across the UK with the highest proportion of households installing renewable technologies, were in Scotland.
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This has been followed up with positive data for 2022, with 23,820 certified installations since January. This represents almost another 1 in 1,000 of the homes in Scotland installing home renewable technologies this year.
Scotland was particularly notable for solar PV installations during this time, with 70% of the top 10 UK installation areas being Scottish. At the top of the list was Aberdeenshire, where approximately one in 41 homes are benefitting from generating their own solar energy. With the Scottish Government last week promising a “much bigger, renewed focus” on solar power in the upcoming Energy Strategy, there has never been such a demonstrable effect on uptake of supporting policies.
At a regional level, the Orkney Islands tops the league table as the standout low carbon powerhouse across the whole of the UK. Orkney has had the equivalent of one-in-five homes with some form of MCS certified small-scale installation since 2008.
According to the Orkney Renewable Energy Forum, one of the main drivers for renewable heating and power in Orkney is the cost of energy. The climate in Orkney is generally wetter, windier, and cooler than many other places in the UK, so heating is generally on for longer in the year meaning that energy prices are a particular issue. Consumers in Orkney are reaping the rewards of their confidence in home-grown energy as they turn to affordable, renewable energy.
MCS continues to paint a positive picture for Scotland through the introduction of the MCS Data Dashboard earlier this month. The dashboard allows users to be able to view the uptake and distribution of MCS certified small-scale renewable installations across the UK in near-real-time highlighting the successes and opportunities in the UK’s journey to net zero.
Ian Rippin, CEO of MCS, said: “The Low Carbon Landscapes report spans March 2020 – December 2021, a period of incredible upheaval for everyone in the UK. In March 2020, we entered the first lockdown of the global pandemic. The lockdown forced us all to stay at home, placing huge pressure on businesses’ ability to install renewables. The year began with an average of 4,000 – 5,000 installations per month. By April 2020 that had fallen to well below 2,000.
“However, the onset of the energy crisis in late 2021 combined with more homeowners wanting to embrace the benefits of greener ways to heat or power their homes, means the deployment of small-scale renewables continues to thrive, and the technologies are on their way to becoming the ‘new normal’. Scotland is a great example of this and somewhere we can learn lessons from. By embracing renewable technology, the country saved 34,562 tonnes of annual carbon emissions across all installations during this period, that’s the equivalent of the emissions from over 110,000 one-way flights from London to New York City.”
