Low Carbon Landscapes
The MCS Installations Database (MID) holds the details of every MCS certified, small-scale renewable energy installation in the UK since 2008. The abundance of information in the MID puts MCS in a unique position to share data-driven insights with the sector.
Low Carbon Landscapes is our way of showcasing the valuable data available to MCS and making our insights accessible to the sector.
Low Carbon Landscapes comprises several data-driven tools, including an annual report and a brand-new, interactive online data dashboard tool – the MCS Data Dashboard.
The MCS Data Dashboard provides near-real-time dynamic visualisations of the uptake of small-scale renewable technologies across the UK and the annual Low Carbon Landscapes report will summarise progress in the last year on our national journey to net zero. Crucially, it also provides us with insight to shape the future, showcases the many opportunities that are now open to us, and highlights the long-term policy framework needed from government to enable the sector to flourish.
CASE STUDIES
About the MCS Data Dashboard
The MCS Data Dashboard is designed to provide near-real-time updates on MID data, to track the adoption of small-scale renewable installations in the UK. Given the UK’s legally binding net zero targets, the MCS Data Dashboard puts small-scale renewable insights in your hands. It is an engaging way to monitor the current uptake of small-scale renewables, highlight current or past trends and identify opportunities for sector growth.
How the MCS Data Dashboard works
By producing data visualisations, the MCS Data Dashboard paints a dynamic picture of the uptake and distribution of small-scale renewable installations in the UK. It also uncovers insights into the MCS contractor community.
The MCS Data Dashboard is divided into two sections: Installation Insights and Scheme Insights. Both can be filtered by year, location, technology type and installation type. Image and data exports are also available for download from each visualisation. The system will be updated every 24 hours as new installation data becomes available in the MID, enabling users to view industry growth in near-to-real-time.
Accessing MCS Data Dashboard
Click on ‘Launch the Data Dashboard’ above to access the MCS Data Dashboard for the first time. You will then need to register for a free account and confirm your email address by clicking the link in the email we will send you. If you encounter any problems, visit our page MCS Data Dashboard Feedback and complete the form provided.
Please note: corporate firewalls may cause issues with MCS Data Dashboard access. If you have created and validated your account but the dashboard is still not loading, we recommend that you first attempt to access it outside of the firewall network. This will verify whether the firewall is the issue. If you can verify that a firewall is the source of the issue, you will need to ask your IT department to whitelist any .dll files from your IP address.
Our CEO, Ian Rippin; Scheme Manager, Alex Hughes and Systems Manager, Hannah Tweedle, discuss the launch of Low Carbon Landscapes, the MCS Data Dashboard and the importance of investing in low carbon technologies.
About the Low Carbon Landscapes annual report
Our inaugural report, Renewing Britain, showcased the 14 years’ worth of data held within the MID, painting a vivid picture of the steps already taken to decarbonise the UK’s homes.
Building on that report’s ambition, we are launching Low Carbon Landscapes – which will make invaluable MCS data more readily available to the sector and policymakers.
The Low Carbon Landscapes report series will provide an annual market outlook, summarising the adoption of low carbon technologies and analysing the trends and policies that drive uptake.
About the data in the MID
The extensive dataset within the MID provides a unique insight into what small-scale renewable technologies were installed, plus where and when installations took place.
Please note, MCS certification is not a mandatory requirement, so MCS data does not capture all small-scale renewable energy installations in the UK. However, as MCS is often a route to Government incentives, we are confident that our data represents a significant proportion of deployment in the UK.
The scope of technologies covered by MCS is up to 50kWe for electricity generating technologies, such as solar PV, and up to 45kWth for heat-generating technologies, such as heat pumps (up to 70kWth for multiple products installed in a single system).
Most installations registered with MCS are in the retrofit market. However, MCS may capture some new-build installations if contractors have chosen to register their installations with MCS. Most of the data is sourced from the MID; however, some data is augmented with external data from the UK Census[1] [2] [3] [4]; Office of National Statistics (ONS)[5] [6] [7] [8]; and the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)[9] [10] [11] [12].
Please note, the MCS Data Dashboard excludes installations commissioned in 2008 due to minimal data available in that year. Also, a small proportion of MCS installation data is disregarded, mainly due to invalid address details.