The number of Cornish homes installing solar panels and heat pumps has risen significantly in recent years at the same time as Cornwall Council has almost halved its carbon emissions.
Since the council declared a climate emergency in 2019, domestic low-carbon technologies such as heat pumps and solar which help reduce residents’ energy bills have expanded rapidly across Cornwall.
New data compiled by the council’s climate and energy team shows heat pump installations increased more than fourfold from 1,802 heat pumps in 2019 to 9,725 in July 2026.
Solar panel installations have also risen significantly from 3,303 seven years ago to a total of 18,054 this summer, with 3,644 additional new rooftop arrays in the last year alone.
Cornwall is now the sixth highest local authority area in England for generating renewable energy and the UK’s top area for solar generation, boosting the region’s energy security.
Alongside residents who are choosing to install solar panels and heat pumps, the council is helping secure government funding to improve energy efficiency and tackle fuel poverty to ensure that the transition to a low-carbon future benefits households across Cornwall.
More residents are also making a switch to driving cleaner cars.
Over the last seven years the number of electric vehicles being driven in Cornwall increased more than tenfold from 705 vehicles in 2019 to 8,758 this year, though proportionally the trend is below the national average.
This was accompanied by a sixfold increase in Cornwall's publicly available EV charging network which grew from 153 devices in October 2019 to 967 devices in July 2026, an increase of 814 chargers. The Drive EV2 Project funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Cornwall Council has contributed to this increase.
Alongside these indicators the council monitors emissions levels across Cornwall through government data collected two years in arrears and assessed by the Centre for Energy and Environment at the University of Exeter.
Emissions for Cornwall have reduced year on year since 2012, except for bouncing back immediately following the pandemic.
Latest figures for 2023 show a three per cent reduction from the year before and a reduction of nearly a third since 2008.
The council’s latest Emissions Inventory report for its operations and estate also shows a big drop in emissions.
For the 2025-6 financial year the unitary authority emitted 8,554 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO²e), representing a 45 per cent drop in emissions since 2018.
The reduction has been driven by LED street lighting upgrades, increased renewable energy generation at council buildings such as Lys Kernow and more low-emission council vehicles.
Since 2018 the council has recorded its greenhouse gas emissions using a system called GHG Protocols, the world’s most widely used system to measure emissions.
Cllr Loic Rich, Cornwall’s portfolio holder for environment and climate change, said:
“After a year of extreme weather and continued energy supply shocks from global events, it has never been clearer how the climate emergency and energy security are interlinked and having an impact on all our lives.
“Cornwall has made great strides in increasing our renewable energy and reducing our emissions, but we need to work together to reduce emissions further and faster – and we need support from government and other organisations responsible for managing climate-related risks.
“Our Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Area Energy plan addresses the need to produce more clean, affordable energy locally, make our homes and buildings more energy efficient and make our economy more resilient. Please join us in continuing to tackle climate change for one and all.”
See more data on how Cornwall is cutting emissions
Story posted October 5, 2026