Planning in Northern Ireland
Its own legislation, and guidance that doesn’t mention plug-in solar at all.
Read the planning pagePlug-in solar in Northern Ireland: not settled yet. We'll tell you the day it is.
The rules that made plug-in solar legal in Great Britain only half-apply here. The product rules do. The rules for connecting one to the network don't, and the government has said Northern Ireland needs separate consideration. We're set up to supply and fit the moment that's resolved. Leave your details and you'll hear from us first.
- We'll never tell you it's fine here when it isn't
- No manufacturer pays us to say otherwise
- One email when it changes, and nothing until then
Enquiry
Be told the day it's settled
Your name, email and postcode, and where you'd hope to put a panel. When Northern Ireland's position is resolved, you get one email saying what changed and what you can do.
One email when it changes. No newsletter, nothing sold, nothing passed on.
Derry
If and when
714kWh a year
That’s what an 800 watt device would make on an unshaded, south facing roof pitch near Belfast, if and when one can be fitted here. Nobody can fit one on that basis today.
Newcastle, County Down, under the Mourne mountains. PVGIS, a point near Belfast, 0.8 kWp, 14 per cent system losses. Queried 13 September 2026.
What's settled here, and what isn't
Eight questions a buyer here needs answered. Four of them below, all eight and their sources on the where it stands page.
Settled
SETTLED
Is a plug-in solar device legal to make and sell here?
Yes. The regulations that created the product came into force on 27 August 2026 and apply across the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland is named in them, not left out.
Who answers this: Answered by the UK government.
SI 2026/848, regulations 1 and 2.
Open
OPEN
Can you connect one to the network the way a house in England can?
Not yet, as a matter of law. The rule that lets Great Britain connect these devices safely is a separate part of the same regulations, and it was written for England and Wales and Scotland only.
Who answers this: Not yet answered.
It would need DESNZ to extend that rule here, or write a Northern Ireland version of it.
Partsettled
PART SETTLED
Which engineering standard covers the connection here?
Northern Ireland already has its own version, G98/NI, run by NIE Networks. But the specification that sets the device’s limits says applying it here is “subject to further consideration and may require amendment.” That is the government’s own wording.
Who answers this: Partly answered.
NIE Networks and DESNZ would need to finish the work between them.
Open
OPEN
Does planning guidance here say anything about plug-in solar?
No. Northern Ireland’s own planning guidance gives no thresholds, says nothing about flats or balconies, and does not mention plug-in solar as a category at all.
Who answers this: Not yet answered.
That sits with the Department for Infrastructure and your local divisional planning office.
The product rules do apply in Northern Ireland
The regulations that made the device legal came into force on 27 August 2026, and they cover the whole United Kingdom. Northern Ireland is named in them.
That settles what the device itself is allowed to be: 800 VA, one per household, up to four panels through one inverter. Those numbers don’t change depending on where you live.
What isn’t settled is getting one connected and told to anyone. That’s the next section.
The part that isn’t settled
The connection rules don't, and that's the problem
Great Britain connects these devices under a rule called G98. Northern Ireland was never part of that system: it has its own version, G98/NI, run by NIE Networks.
The government’s own specification says applying it here is “subject to further consideration and may require amendment.” That’s not our reading of it. That’s their wording.
Questions people ask
The rest are on the questions page, including the ones where the honest answer is that nobody knows yet.
Can I buy one and fit it myself right now?
You can buy the device: the product rules apply here, the same as the rest of the UK. We won’t arrange fitting until the connection and planning questions are answered, because we don’t want to arrange something we can’t stand behind.
What about the England rule on timber balconies?
That change is England-only and doesn’t apply here. Northern Ireland’s own planning guidance doesn’t mention plug-in solar, balconies or timber at all.
Will you contact me about anything else?
No. One email when the position changes. Nothing sold, nothing passed to anyone else, no newsletter in the meantime.
Where it would make the most, once it can go up
PVGIS, a point near Belfast, four mountings, 0.8 kWp with 14 per cent system losses, unshaded. Queried 13 September 2026. All four figures are what a device would make, not what you can fit today.
Leave your details and you'll hear first
Leave your postcode and where you’d hope to put a panel. We’re not going to sell you anything today. The day the connection and planning position here changes, you’ll be the first to hear it from us.
Tell me when it's settled