The UK solar panel grant landscape in 2026 just changed materially. The new Warm Homes Plan (announced 20 January 2026) opens 0%-interest loans up to £30,000 to a much wider pool of households than any prior scheme — and it sits alongside the existing income-based grants (ECO4, HUG, Warm Homes Local Grant) and the Smart Export Guarantee. Here’s what’s available right now, who qualifies, and where each North East council currently stands.
Warm Homes Plan 2026: £30,000 0%-interest solar loans
Announced by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 20 January 2026, the Warm Homes Plan is the most significant change to UK domestic solar funding since the Feed-in Tariff closed in 2019. It is not a grant — it’s a 0%-interest loan of up to £30,000, repayable over 10 to 15 years, designed so that monthly bill savings roughly match the monthly repayment from day one.
Who qualifies: owner-occupiers (or tenants with landlord consent) with household income under £36,000 per year, or anyone in receipt of qualifying benefits (Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, Child Tax Credit, JSA, ESA, Working Tax Credit). The property must have a current EPC, and the funded measures must be MCS-equivalent certified on completion.
What it funds: solar PV, battery storage, heat pumps, insulation, EV chargers — singly or as a bundled retrofit. A solar-plus-battery package typically lands at £10,000-£14,000, well inside the £30k ceiling, leaving headroom for insulation or a heat pump in the same application.
How to apply: through your local authority. National framework, council-administered — which is why eligibility windows differ across the North East (full table below). The DESNZ rollout is phased: tier-1 councils opened applications in March 2026; tier-2 councils (most of the North East) opened between April and June 2026.
AMP’s view on the NE rollout: Northumberland and Durham have been quick off the mark — both opened applications in April and have processed cases inside 8 weeks. Newcastle and Gateshead followed in May. The Tees Valley councils (Stockton, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool) are still finalising their referral processes as of June 2026; we expect all NE councils to be live by Q3. This is the route most of our enquiries now sit on — if you earn under £36k and don’t qualify for ECO4, it’s almost certainly the right answer.
Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) — not a grant but worth knowing
The SEG is the legal replacement for the Feed-in Tariff. It pays you for any surplus solar electricity exported to the grid. Every UK electricity supplier with over 150,000 customers must offer an SEG tariff.
Anyone with an fully-certified solar installation and a smart meter qualifies. There’s no income test, property type restriction, or means assessment. You just choose an SEG supplier and register.
Rates in 2026:
| Supplier | Export rate | 4kW annual income | 20-year lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Octopus Outgoing Fixed | 15p/kWh | £300-£390 | £6,000-£7,800 |
| Tesla Energy Plan (Powerwall) | up to 24p/kWh | £480-£624 | £9,600-£12,480 |
| British Gas Export & Earn | 6-15p/kWh | £120-£390 | £2,400-£7,800 |
| EDF Export+ | 7-10p/kWh | £140-£260 | £2,800-£5,200 |
| E.ON Next Export | 3-7p/kWh | £60-£182 | £1,200-£3,640 |
Figures based on a typical 4kW system in the North East exporting 2,000-2,600 kWh/year. We covered this in detail in our Smart Export Guarantee explained 2026 post.
ECO4 (Energy Company Obligation)
ECO4 is the current iteration of the obligation on large energy suppliers to fund energy efficiency measures for low-income households. Solar PV can be funded under ECO4 in specific cases — typically as part of a wider package alongside insulation, heat pump or other measures.
Who qualifies: Households on certain qualifying benefits (Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, Child Tax Credit, JSA, ESA, and others), or households in the lowest income deciles for specific local authority areas (LA Flex eligibility).
What you get: Up to 100% funding of installation cost in some cases, partial funding in others. ECO4 prioritises lowest-EPC properties (E, F, G) and households in fuel poverty.
Process: Apply through an approved ECO installer. ECO4 doesn’t pay homeowners directly — funding is administered through installers who claim back from the obligated energy supplier.
Solar-specific note: ECO4 prefers heating measures (heat pumps, insulation) over solar PV. Solar is funded under ECO4 mostly where it’s combined with a heat pump and there’s documented benefit to the household’s energy security. Standalone solar applications under ECO4 are rarer.
Home Upgrade Grant (HUG)
HUG specifically targets off-gas-grid households in the lowest EPC bands. It’s administered through local authorities and provides up to £15,000 of energy efficiency measures per household, depending on local funding allocation.
Who qualifies: Off-gas-grid households (oil, LPG, electric heating, solid fuel) with EPC ratings of D, E, F or G, and household income under £36,000 per year. Specific eligibility varies by local authority — Northumberland County Council, Durham County Council and Newcastle City Council all administer HUG funding differently.
What you get: Solar PV can be included as part of a HUG package alongside insulation, heat pump or other improvements. Standalone solar funding under HUG is unusual.
Process: Apply through your local authority. Application windows vary; some councils have rolling applications, others run defined application periods.
Warm Homes Local Grant
Replaced the older Warm Home Discount and similar schemes in 2025-2026. Administered through local authorities with funding from central government. Targets fuel-poor households with energy efficiency improvements including solar PV in some cases.
Eligibility varies significantly by local authority. Northumberland, Durham, Newcastle, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland, Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough all operate variants with slightly different rules. We check current eligibility for AMP customers as part of every survey.
Typical funding: Up to £10,000 per household, depending on local authority allocation and the measures funded.
Grant eligibility at a glance
| Scheme | Max funding | Income limit | Property type | Administered by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warm Homes Plan (loan) | £30,000 (0% interest) | Under £36k or on benefits | Owner-occupier or consenting tenant | Local authorities (national framework) |
| ECO4 (grant) | Up to 100% of install | On qualifying benefits or LA Flex | Owner-occupier + private rented + social | Obligated energy suppliers via installers |
| Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) | £15,000 | Under £36k | Off-gas-grid, EPC D-G | Local authorities |
| Warm Homes Local Grant | £10,000 | Fuel-poor households | All tenure types, EPC D-G | Local authorities |
| Smart Export Guarantee | Tariff income, no cap | None | Any with smart meter | Energy suppliers (Ofgem regulated) |
North East: where each council stands today
| Council | Warm Homes Plan | Status / contact |
|---|---|---|
| Northumberland County Council | Open | Accepting applications since April 2026 |
| Durham County Council | Open | Accepting applications since April 2026 |
| Newcastle City Council | Open | Live since May 2026 |
| Gateshead Council | Open | Live since May 2026 |
| South Tyneside Council | Between rounds | Register interest — next window expected Q3 2026 |
| Sunderland City Council | Between rounds | Register interest — next window expected Q3 2026 |
| Hartlepool Borough Council | Referral-only | Contact council energy team |
| Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council | Between rounds | Register interest — next window expected Q3 2026 |
| Middlesbrough Council | Referral-only | Contact council energy team |
Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) — commercial only
PSDS is the main support route for non-domestic buildings — schools, NHS estates, councils, universities, social housing. Phase 4 (currently active) funds heat pump installations and can include solar PV as part of an integrated decarbonisation project.
Who qualifies: Academy trusts, LA-maintained schools, NHS trusts, FE colleges, universities, local authorities, housing associations, emergency services. Solar-only applications are uncommon — PSDS prioritises heating decarbonisation.
Funding levels: Up to 100% of capital cost for qualifying projects.
For commercial businesses (not public sector), solar funding comes through capital allowances (Annual Investment Allowance) and asset finance rather than grants. Covered in detail on our commercial solar service page.
What’s not available
Worth being explicit about what does not exist as of June 2026:
- No universal homeowner grant for solar PV. The Warm Homes Plan is a loan, not a grant — generous (0% interest) but you do repay it.
- No solar VAT relief that helps individuals. The 0% VAT on energy-saving materials (introduced April 2022, extended to 2027) is a supplier-side measure — your installer charges 0% VAT to you. It’s already reflected in our quoted prices.
- No green mortgage that pays for solar. Some lenders offer rate discounts for properties with renewable upgrades; that’s a financing mechanism, not a grant.
- No specific solar subsidy for new builds. Future Homes Standard from 2025 requires new builds to be designed for low-carbon heating, but solar PV isn’t mandated — developer responsibility, no homeowner-side funding.
Solar pricing without grants — still attractive
Honest assessment: solar PV in 2026 has competitive economics even without grants. A 4kW install from £4,999, paying back in 7-9 years through bill savings + SEG income, generating revenue for 25+ years afterwards — the case stands up without any grant subsidy.
For most homeowners, the question isn’t “what grant do I qualify for?” but “does the unsubsidised case work for my home?” For most North East homes with reasonable south or east-west roof aspects, the answer is yes.
For lower-income households who do qualify for ECO4, HUG or Warm Homes Local Grant, that’s a strong supplementary route. For the squeezed middle, the Warm Homes Plan loan is now the route most worth checking first.
What about battery grants?
Same picture: no general homeowner grant for batteries in 2026. ECO4 funding can include battery storage as part of a wider package in some cases. Beyond that, the case rests on tariff arbitrage economics, which work well on Octopus Go or similar smart tariffs.
We covered battery economics in our Best home battery UK 2026 comparison — short version: a 10kWh battery typically delivers £400-800/year savings on its own, more when paired with solar, on no grant basis.
What about heat pump grants?
Different scheme entirely — £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant for heat pumps. Available to homeowners regardless of income. Detailed in our Boiler Upgrade Scheme 2026 complete guide.
Heat pump + solar together is the strongest grant case for most homeowners — the £7,500 BUS on the heat pump effectively cross-subsidises the solar capital expenditure if you’re doing both at once.
Getting clarity on your eligibility
If you think you might qualify for the Warm Homes Plan, ECO4, HUG or Warm Homes Local Grant, we check eligibility for free as part of every AMP survey. We work with the major Northumberland and County Durham local authorities and have current contacts at the ECO4 administering bodies. Where you don’t qualify for grant funding, we’ll tell you straight — there’s no point chasing applications that won’t land.
Book a free survey → or call 0191 535 2711.
Last reviewed: June 2026 by Sheridan Sheriff, Director, AMP Renewables.
Related: Smart Export Guarantee explained 2026 · Solar panel cost UK 2026 · Solar panels service page