Sussex homes with solar panels and heat pumps rocket

“We are installing a record number of solar panels and heat pumps as energy costs stay high,” says Jason Lindfield, Founder of OHM Energy.

“We have been in the renewable energy sector for decades and our pace of growth this year mirrors the record number of low carbon systems being installed across the country.”

According to data from the industry’s official standards body, on average, more than 17,000 homes installed solar panels. each month in 2023. Heat pumps were also smashing records with the number of installations hitting 3,000 a month for the first time.

Every month of 2023 was a record month for battery storage technologies, with the total number installations in homes and businesses reaching more than 1,000 in 2023 so far.

Ian Rippin, the chief executive of the industry’s accreditation body, MCS, said: “As the cost of energy continues to grow, we are seeing more people turn to renewable technology to generate their own energy and heat at home.”

The UK government has set targets to reach 70GW of solar capacity by 2035 and to install 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028. Today small-scale renewable energy installations across the UK have a total capacity of 4GW.

Despite the £5,000 Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grants to reduce the cost of replacing an old gas boiler, the uptake of heat pumps has been slow and the country is behind the government’s target,

In total there were 17,920 heat pump installations in the first six months of 2023, according to MCS data. If this installation rate were to continue over the second half of the year, the country would reach just 6% of the government’s heat pump target.

Jason Lindfield, Director of OHM Energy says: “There is a large amount of work to do to ensure that heat pump technology becomes mainstream over the next few years. Low carbon technology must become the cheapest form of heating so households can justify replacing fossil fuel boilers.”

Lindfield admits that the challenge to transitioning to a net zero economy is broader than price. He believes that one of the biggest barriers to the government’s heat pump ambitions is the lack of installers.

“To reach the government’s heat pump ambitions, we need to recruit, train, and upskill more engineers than ever before. We need trustworthy reliable advisors with qualified, skilled engineers. Bridging this critical skill gap was the rationale behind OHM Energy's partnering with East Sussex College for the green training hub in Eastbourne. Courses are open to anyone wishing to enter the sector at this exciting time.”

As the most established renewable company in the South East, OHM Energy is well-positioned to share knowledge and collaborate with other companies to make Sussex a pioneering leader in renewable energy training.

For more information about courses at the OHM Energy / ESC Training hub, please visit https://www.esctraininghub.com