The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) has said its redeveloped installer scheme will come into effect in summer 2024, describing the change as a reset of the scheme's consumer protections1. The announcement was made in the body's review of renewable uptake across the UK in 2023, published on 1 February 20241. MCS said it was "eager to reset the Scheme's consumer protections to give people the confidence that they need to engage with small-scale renewables"1.
MCS is the certification body behind the MCS certification that installers hold for small-scale renewables, including solar PV. The scheme sits alongside separate consumer codes such as the Renewable Energy Consumer Code, which handles complaints and protections for renewable installations1.
The same review set out the installation figures for 2023 that the scheme change will apply to. Nearly 175,000 small-scale renewables were installed across England in 2023, a 32% increase on 2022, bringing England's all-time count to 1,378,870, or over 5.7% of households with a certified renewable installation1. Just short of 150,000 of those were solar PV installations, and nearly 25,000 were certified air source heat pumps, an 11% increase on 20221. Approximately 87% of battery installations in 2023 were in England1.
| Nation | Share of households with a certified renewable installation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wales | Nearly 8.4% | 112,627 certified installations since records began in 2008; 5,853 heat pumps installed in 20231 |
| Scotland | Over 8.2% | Highest heat pump uptake in the UK, with over 35,000 installations1 |
| England | Over 5.7% | 1,378,870 all-time installations1 |
| Northern Ireland | Just under 4.4% | 32,755 small-scale renewable installations1 |
MCS also noted policy changes affecting the technologies it certifies. The grant value for heat pumps under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme rose from £5,000 to £7,500 in October 2023, and average weekly applications for BUS vouchers rose from 331 to 1,172 after the increase1. In December the government announced an additional £1.5 billion in funding for the scheme until 2028, allowing for an additional 200,000 vouchers for homeowners across England and Wales1. VAT was removed from battery storage installations from 1 February 2024, following a zero rate of VAT for the supply and installation of solar PV implemented in May 20231.
Why it matters for households
Certification is the mechanism that tells a householder whether an installer has been assessed to a recognised standard, and it is the route through which many grant schemes and consumer protections operate. A reset of the scheme's consumer protections therefore affects the terms on which a home's renewable installation is commissioned, certified and, if something goes wrong, pursued. For a household weighing up solar panels, a heat pump or battery storage as a route to generating or storing its own energy, the certification attached to the installer is part of what determines whether the work is covered by a recognised complaints route. MCS has not set out in this announcement what specifically changes in the protections, only that they are being reset.
What happens next
MCS said the new scheme comes into effect in summer 20241. It also said it expects to enrol the first intake of students onto the Low Carbon Heating Technician apprenticeship in September 2024, a UK first, with several colleges and training providers signed up to deliver it1. No further detail on the content of the redeveloped scheme has been reported.
Sources1 cited
- Battle of the Nations: Renewable uptake across the UK in 2023 - MCS, mcscertified.com