UK Rooftop Solar: 207,619 Installs Beat the 2011 Record

Rooftop solar has already had its busiest year on record in the UK, with more than three months still to run, which means more roofs are being worked on with panels in mind. A slate quarry has put a 100-year guarantee on its UK products, with a condition that has to be met on the day your roofer unloads the pallets. And a Scottish roofing firm has been fined after one of its roofers fell to his death, a case that shows what goes wrong when nobody plans how a job at height will be done.

Rooftop solar passes its all-time annual record by mid-September

Solar Energy UK said this week that 207,619 MCS-certified solar installations have been recorded so far in 2026. That beats 203,697, the figure set in 2011 that stood as the annual record until 2025, when installations reached 269,195. On the current run rate the trade body expects around 300,000 by the end of the year. The MCS figures cover homes, schools, village halls and other small-scale sites; big commercial roofs such as warehouses and supermarkets are not counted. There are now more than 2.1 million certified systems in the UK. The first million took from January 2009 to July 2019, the second million arrived in April 2026, and a typical home system is 3 to 5kW.

The driver is bills. Solar Energy UK points to this year’s spike in energy prices after the outbreak of war in Iran, and inquiries that came in over the spring are now turning into installations.

For a homeowner the practical consequence is timing. Installers are busy, and panels are fixed over your roof covering for many years. If your tiles, battens or felt are close to the end of their life, it costs far less to replace the roof before the panels go on than to pay for the array to be taken off and refitted later, scaffold included. Our solar panels on your roof guide covers the structural checks, how long a roof lasts helps you judge what is left in yours, and roof scaffolding cost shows why sharing one scaffold between both jobs matters. The figures are reported by Solar Power Portal and Roofing Today.

CUPA PIZARRAS puts a 100-year guarantee on all its UK natural slate

Spanish slate producer CUPA PIZARRAS told the UK roofing trade on 3 September that it now offers a 100-year guarantee on all its natural slate products sold here, including its CUPA 12 and Heavy 3 ranges. The company owns and runs its own quarries, and its argument is that a guarantee issued by the quarry carries more weight than one issued by a merchant or distributor.

The small print is where homeowners need to pay attention. According to CUPA’s own guarantee page, the guarantee has to be requested by your roofing contractor, and the certificate must be issued within one year of the distributor’s invoice date. Two documents are needed: the pallet identification, photographed or kept before the slates are laid, and a copy of the invoice with legible reference numbers. Once the pallet wrapping is in a skip and the labels are gone, that evidence is hard to get back.

So if a quote names CUPA slate, ask the roofer to confirm in writing that they will photograph the pallet labels, keep the invoice and apply for the certificate, and ask for a copy when it arrives. A material guarantee also covers the slate, not the workmanship, so you still want a separate workmanship guarantee from the contractor. Our roofing guarantees and warranties guide explains the difference, and the slate roofing guide covers what natural slate costs and how it compares with tiles. The announcement is at Roofing Today and the conditions are on CUPA PIZARRAS.

Aberdeen roofing firm fined after a roofer’s fatal fall near Montrose

Matthew Ryan was working for Stonehaven Roofing Services at a property in St Cyrus, near Montrose, in March 2024 when he fell and suffered a fatal head injury. The Health and Safety Executive investigated. The firm’s director, Andrew Kenyon, pleaded guilty at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in July to breaches that included failing to provide measures to prevent falls and failing to make sure the work was properly planned and risk-assessed. The fine was £20,000, reduced to £15,050 for the early plea. The case was reported on 11 September, and his widow, Nicola Pert, called his death “completely avoidable”. The family is bringing a fatal accident claim against the company.

On a house roof, fall prevention is not complicated or mysterious: it is scaffold with edge protection, or a properly planned alternative, and it should be priced into the quote before anyone goes up a ladder. A quote with no line for access, or a roofer who says a quick job does not need it, is telling you how the work will be done. Our guide to reading a roofing quote shows where access should appear, and roof scaffolding cost explains what it normally adds. The report is at STV News.