Octopus reports sharp rise in solar panel sales since start of Iran war

Solar panel sales have risen sharply since the start of the Iran war, according to Octopus Energy, and households are opting for bigger arrays of roof panels.
Sales were up 54% so far this month compared with the same period last month, the company said on Thursday.
Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, the chief product officer for the company, said: “We are seeing a massive shift as people stop just asking and start acting. British families are tired of being held hostage by global fossil fuel prices. By switching to solar and heat pumps, they are becoming their own power stations, locking in low costs and protecting their wallets for the long term.”
Octopus said many customers were opting for “supersize” systems with 12 panels instead of the usual arrays of 10, and that heat pump sales had also risen by more than 50%, while sales of electric vehicle charger systems were up by 20%.
Greg Jackson, the Octopus chief executive, told the BBC’s Big Boss Interview podcast this week there had been a “huge jolt” in solar sales compared with February. On 17 March, Octopus reported a 27% increase in solar sales inquiries since the start of the Iran war.
Good Energy, a green electricity supplier, said this week it had seen a doubling of interest in solar panels in the past three months.
Nigel Pocklington, Good Energy’s chief executive, said: “The most effective way to bring bills down over the long term is to double down on renewables, alongside storage and flexibility, so more of our power comes from predictable, homegrown sources.
“We should be putting solar on any building that can take it. That’s how we cut costs, strengthen energy security and give people real control over the energy they rely on every day.”
Solar panel sales may be set for a greater boost within months when plug-in solar kits start are due to become available from high street retailers and supermarkets.
The government announced earlier this week that most new homes were likely to have solar panels from 2028 and that it would lift a ban on sales of plug-in solar kits, which have proved popular across Europe and in countries such as Pakistan.
Andrew Dickinson, the head of infrastructure at Heligan Group, an investment company and consultancy, said: “Given the recent geopolitical events, the UK’s reliance on global energy markets has become front and centre. The solution lies in a series of short-term initiatives to address the immediate impact of rising energy prices on homeowners.
“Plug-in solar is one of these solutions that is expected to lower the barriers to entry for homeowners. The previously lengthy process of roof assessment, design and installation by a specialist technician will no longer be necessary.”
A report this week from Electrify Britain, a campaign backed by Octopus, found that using solar panels and heat pumps would cut people’s fuel bills in the event of worsening oil crises.
The report, Plug In, Pay Less, found that houses using such technologies would be almost immune to fossil fuel price rises: for a household using no gas or oil appliances, and powered by electricity, a 30% rise in wholesale gas and oil prices would translate into only a 1.7% rise in energy bills in 2035.
Energy bills are likely to rise this year, with the price cap likely to increase by more than £300 this July, according to Cornwall Insight, a consultancy.
Jess Ralston, the head of energy at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit thinktank, said: “Predictions of energy bills rising by hundreds of pounds will feel like deja vu to hard-working families as yet another gas price crisis pushes up the cost of living. Many are still saddled with debt from the last gas crisis while Putin and the oil and gas companies stand to benefit.”
She added: “These wars and the global gas market are clearly beyond the UK’s control, so the only way we have to permanently stabilise bills is to cut our use of gas and that means switching to electric heat pumps and renewables that squeeze gas power plants off the grid.
“The North Sea is in long-term decline and more drilling won’t move the needle on prices we pay. Last year more renewables coming on to the grid pushed down the wholesale electricity prices by a third.”
Octopus said it had also seen a rise of about a third in the number of inquiries about leasing electric vehicles.