Record year for UK small-scale battery storage

It’s been a record shattering year for accredited battery storage installations in the United Kingdom.  September 2024 was the best month on record according to data collected by UK certification body MCS, with 1,193 recorded certified installations recorded.

Certification isn’t required to install battery storage alongside PV, and MCS data will not capture all installations, but growth among certified installers has surged. In 2023, the scheme recorded just 4,965 accredited battery installations for the year, compared to 13,263 year-to-date at the end of September 2024.

Alex Hughes, head of scheme at MCS, told ESS News that battery storage is “the fastest growing technology on the scheme.”

More than 5,000 UK contractors currently hold MCS certification, with 77% certified for solar PV, 58% for heat pumps and 34% for battery storage. MCS is a voluntary certification scheme, however using an MCS-certified installer is the only way households can guarantee access to the Smart Export Guarantee export tariff, a UK government’s successor to the feed-in tariff.

Hughes said that installers being certified for solar but not storage had potential to create confusion for consumers.

“We know there are probably a lot of certified solar PV installer out there that don’t have the battery storage certification but are probably installing PV and battery together, we’re really keen that they get the certification for both,” she said.

MCS also seeks to protect consumers through product certification. The body currently offers product certification for solar modules and related equipment in the United Kingdom, and Hughes said MCS’s battery working group is considering a battery product standard, in a similar vein. For solar, MCS currently works with international certification bodies to build a list of products tested for compliance with UK regulations, as well as the scheme’s own standards designed with input from installers, consumer groups, trade associations and technical experts.

Hughes said work is also underway to strengthen the MCS scheme in a bid to improve compliance with standards and to bolster consumer protections, with more details expected before the end of 2024.

“There’s a whole load of work that we’ve got planned in terms of scheme reforms, in terms of strengthening the certification framework, introducing risk-based surveillance, this is all coming into next year.

“A lot of change is coming to strengthen the certification framework and the consumer protection,” she said.

More than 5,000 UK contractors currently hold MCS certification, with 77% certified for solar PV, 58% for heat pumps and 34% for battery storage.