Solar Panels in Worcestershire

Switch Together Worcestershire, or Your Own Quote?

Worcestershire County Council and the district councils run Switch Together Worcestershire (formerly Solar Together), a group-buying scheme delivered with iChoosr. After registration closes, pre-approved installers compete on price in an auction, and each registrant receives a personalised proposal with the system design and total cost — with no obligation to accept (Wyre Forest District Council, 26 February 2026). The councils report 8,242 registrations and 855 completed solar PV installations from earlier rounds. Registration for the 2026 round was due to close on 27 March 2026; check the county council’s Switch Together page for the current position.

Group-buying can be a good route, and it is run by the councils and iChoosr rather than by us, so a direct quote from us is separate: a fixed, itemised document that you can set beside a scheme proposal line by line — the design, the warranties, who handles the network notification and MCS certification, and the total installed price.

Redditch, Worcester and Kidderminster: Three Different Towns

Each town has its own planning authority — Redditch Borough Council, Worcester City Council and Wyre Forest District Council for Kidderminster — and its own character.

Redditch was designated a New Town on 10 April 1964, the second after Telford, to relieve overcrowding in the West Midlands conurbation; its Development Corporation was wound up on 31 March 1985, and the Town and Country Planning Association records that the New Town area accounts for 93% of the borough’s population (TCPA). Because so many Redditch homes sit within that planned New Town, a survey checks the roof structure, covering and access home by home rather than assuming one pattern.

Kidderminster has four conservation areas — Blakebrook, Church Street, Green Street and Vicar Street — among the 17 in Wyre Forest district (Wyre Forest District Council). In a conservation area the national rule is narrow: roof panels on a house are permitted development, and only a wall, balcony or roof enclosure that fronts a highway is excluded.

What a Roof Makes in Worcestershire

PVGIS, the European Commission’s solar model, was run for each town with satellite data for 2005–2023 and 14% system losses, for 1kWp of panels on a south-facing roof pitched at 35°. A 4kWp system would make:

For comparison, Ofgem’s typical household electricity figures are 1,600, 2,500 and 3,800 kWh a year (low, medium and high, from 1 July 2026). A roof pitched at 10° makes about 9–10% less (906 kWh per kWp at Worcester). Output is seasonal — Worcester makes about 121 kWh per kWp in June and 33 in December — so a battery matters more than a bigger array; our battery sizing guide shows how to size one.

Planning and the Network Operator

Three things can change the planning answer for a Worcestershire house: an Article 4 Direction on your street (ask your district council), a flat-roof array in a conservation area (which needs the council’s prior approval before work starts), and a listed building — from 27 August 2026 a listed dwelling is outside the permitted-development rule altogether and needs planning permission as well as listed building consent. We check all three at survey.

Worcestershire sits largely within National Grid Electricity Distribution’s West Midlands licence area — the two digits at the start of the MPAN on your bill confirm it (14 for the West Midlands). We handle the DNO notification, G98 for systems up to 3.68kW per phase or the G99 application for anything larger, before installation.

Worcester, Redditch and Kidderminster Pages

Dedicated local pages for each town, with local pricing, planning guidance and FAQs:

Funding and Export Income

There is no general solar grant to apply for. The support that reaches every household is zero-rated VAT on domestic solar and batteries until 31 March 2027, interest-free finance over 12 months, and the Smart Export Guarantee, which pays for what you send back to the grid — the SEG rates guide tracks the current table. Lower-income households in privately owned homes rated EPC D–G may qualify for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, which is delivered through local councils.

Solar in Worcestershire: FAQs