Home Energy Scotland withdrew stand-alone loans for solar energy systems on homes in the summer of 2023, without warning, according to Solar Energy UK. A year later, the body announced that it would no longer offer loans for solar panels or battery energy storage at all1.
Up to £11,500 had been available in the form of grants and interest-free loans to fit solar, battery and heat pump technologies together1. The withdrawal of the stand-alone solar loan was reported at the time, and the later decision to end loans for solar panels and batteries was also covered1.
The account appears in a Solar Energy UK news item published on 10 April 2025, reporting a letter from Solar Energy Scotland to the Acting Minister for Climate Action, Alasdair Allan MSP. The letter was signed by the body's chair, Josh King1.
"In the summer of 2023, Home Energy Scotland withdrew stand-alone loans for solar energy systems on homes, without warning."
The same letter sets out installation figures from the standards body MCS. Across the UK, 21 per cent more air source heat pumps were installed in the first three months of 2025 than in the same period of 2024, while Scotland recorded a fall of 13 per cent. In the first quarter of 2024, 66 per cent more air source heat pumps were installed per household in Scotland than in the UK as a whole; that figure has since fallen to 19 per cent more1.
| Measure | Figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| ASHP installations, UK | up 21% | Q1 2025 vs Q1 2024 |
| ASHP installations, Scotland | down 13% | Q1 2025 vs Q1 2024 |
| ASHP installations per household, Scotland vs UK | 66% more | Q1 2024 |
| ASHP installations per household, Scotland vs UK | 19% more | Q1 2025 |
| MCS certified solar installations, UK | over 21,000 | March 2025 |
| MCS certified solar installations, Scotland | nearly 2,000 | March 2025 |
Solar Energy UK reports that March 2025 was a record-breaking month for MCS certified solar installations, with over 21,000 UK-wide, nearly 2,000 of them in Scotland, numbers not seen for a decade1. A Scottish Solar Vision, expected to set a goal to deliver between four and six gigawatts of solar generation capacity at all scales by 2030, was announced in October 2023 and remains unconfirmed1.
On public attitudes, the report cites 68 per cent of owner-occupiers saying they would probably or definitely install solar panels or had already done so, compared with 25 per cent for heat pumps1. A 2022 Solar Energy report put the potential benefit of solar and battery storage combined with heat pumps at several hundred or even thousands of pounds per year1.
Why it matters for households
The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme is the main route by which Scottish households have accessed public funding for solar panels and battery storage. The withdrawal of stand-alone solar loans, and then of solar and battery loans entirely, removed that route for homes wanting panels or storage on their own rather than as part of a wider package with a heat pump1. The Home Energy Scotland Loan and Cashback Scheme has since closed.
For a household, the practical effect is that the cost of a solar or battery installation has to be met from other sources. The report links the absence of low-cost finance to slower take-up of heat pumps in Scotland, on the argument that solar and storage reduce running costs and make electric heating more attractive1. It also cites survey evidence that owner-occupiers are far more willing to install solar than heat pumps1.
The Home Energy Scotland advice service remains the starting point for grant and loan questions, and the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan vs Warmer Homes Scotland comparison sets out how the two schemes differ. For households in other parts of the UK, the grants and schemes hub covers equivalent support.
What happens next
The Scottish Government is considering revisions to the Heat in Buildings Bill, which the report says would make provision for energy efficiency standards for owner-occupier and non-domestic properties, with standards for private rented accommodation introduced through existing regulations1. The energy efficiency standards for privately rented homes in Scotland are covered separately.
A Scottish Government Green Heat Taskforce report is cited as saying lessons should be learned from iChoosr, which has worked with over 200 local authorities on discounted residential solar installations, and that a critical avenue for action would draw on the UK government's Warm Homes Plan, which combines grants and low-interest loans for insulation, solar panels, batteries and low-carbon heating, with funding to upgrade 300,000 homes a year1.
No date has been reported for a decision on the Heat in Buildings Bill revisions or on the Scottish Solar Vision.
Sources1 cited
- Scotland risks falling behind on clean heat • Solar Energy UK, solarenergyuk.org