A surge in utility-scale solar deployment is driving PV capacity growth in the United Kingdom. Provisional government data records 22 GW of deployed solar at the end of February 2026, with a the pace of large-scale plant commissioning accelerating.
Data from the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) shows deployed solar capacity increased 2.5 GW (12.6%) in 12 months to end of February 2026, a rate of deployment not seen since the subsidy era. Plants in the 25 MW or greater segment in particular have seen a step change in the pace of deployment, with record annual capacity additions recorded in the DESNZ data for 2024 and 2025. These annual growth figures may overstate deployment in those specific years, as DESNZ has been integrating data from a significant volume of previously unrecorded unaccredited plants into its dataset, some of which may have been commissioned earlier. However, the overarching trend is toward a significant increase in the number of large-scale plants coming online each year.
Growth in large-scale projects has been buoyed by the commissioning of the first UK plants supported through the government’s fifth and sixth CfD allocation rounds. Government data shows just 22 MW of cumulative solar capacity was from plants backed by a CfD in December 2024, compared to 626 MW of capacity at the end of February 2026. This trend is expected to continue in the years ahead following record solar capacity procured in the seventh CfD round, extending the pipeline of large-scale projects with long-term bankable revenue.
Source: Provisional PV deployment data to end of February 2025, UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
The resurgence in utility-scale segment brings UK solar deployment to a pace not seen for a decade, when subsidy support played a key role. Solar installations had a record year in 2015, with 4.3 GW deployed as developers rushed to beat looming deadlines for renewables obligation (RO) mechanism support – an annual total that remains unmatched. The UK government confirmed in July 2015 that it would be winding down the mechanism supporting projects greater than 50 kW, while also introducing a significant cut to the feed-in tariff offered to small-scale installations.
Larger plants may be driving the bulk of capacity additions but the last 12 months has also seen the pace of new small-scale installations accelerate. Installations of 10 kW or lower accounted for 6.3 GW of total UK solar capacity at the end of February 2026, up from 5.4 GW at the end of February 2025. Certification body MCS, which holds data on registered solar installations below 50 kW, reported a new annual record in 2025 when certified installations surpassed 203,125 in November, beating the previous record set in 2011.
The industry is poised for more small-scale installation growth when promised state-backed grants and loans for household efficiency upgrades are rolled out, and mandates for rooftop solar for England and Wales come into force.
UK government deployment data is provisional and subject to revision as new information becomes available.
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