Mole Valley District Council’s newest solar array in Leatherhead is over a car park, not a roof. Solar carports covering around 20 bays went in at Leatherhead Leisure Centre from 8 January 2026, under a £136,119 (ex VAT) contract with Joju Solar. They are expected to generate 37,498 kWh a year, cut the council’s carbon footprint by about 9.7 tonnes a year, and export surplus to the grid on days the centre is closed. That last detail is the whole case for a home battery in one line: without storage, electricity made when nobody needs it leaves the building.
So what help is there for a household in KT22 or KT23 that wants to keep its own surplus? This guide goes through each scheme and its status when we checked. For the battery itself, including placement in the town’s larger houses and flats, see our page on battery storage in Leatherhead.
What the council has committed to
Mole Valley District Council declared a climate emergency in June 2019 and pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. A Climate Change Strategy endorsed in October 2021 sets out the reduction programme, and the council rolls it forward through annual action plans: the 2026/27 Climate Change Action Plan went before Scrutiny on 2 June and Cabinet on 16 June 2026. The carports are one delivered item. They are council estate work, not money for households, but a district-wide target also depends on private roofs and garages.
There is already a base. DESNZ records about 2,864 solar PV installations of all sizes across Mole Valley at the end of 2025, with 13.69 MW of capacity. That counts every scale, not only homes, and DESNZ says many 2025 installations could not yet be assigned to an area, so the figure is likely to rise when revised.
Switch Together: paused, with a battery route listed
The county group-buying scheme, run with Surrey County Council since 2021 as Solar Together Surrey and now trading as Switch Together, is the route Mole Valley has backed for households; the council was one of 12 Surrey councils taking part. On 18 October 2026, the Switch Together page for Mole Valley read: “We’re not open in your area at the moment.” It gave no round dates.
The same page says battery storage and EV chargers are available through the scheme, and links to a battery-only route for households that already have panels. If you have an array on a Fetcham or Bookham roof, that is the part to watch. Registering is free and carries no obligation. When a round does open, compare its offer with an independent quote on the same specification: usable capacity, inverter, warranty terms, the network application, and whether backup is included.
The Warm Homes: Local Grant, through Surrey
GOV.UK’s list of successful councils, updated 2 July 2026, places Mole Valley in the Surrey consortium, funded with £13,914,375. Surrey County Council runs the grant on behalf of 11 boroughs and districts. Its guidance, reviewed on 8 October 2026, says:
- the grant began on 1 September 2025 and is planned to run until 31 March 2028;
- the measures include solar PV, solar thermal and battery storage, alongside insulation, windows and doors, and low-carbon heating;
- every route needs an EPC of D, E, F or G;
- households qualify through an eligible postcode, a means-tested benefit, an income of £36,000 or below, or the further pathways the council lists;
- owner occupiers are not expected to contribute to the cost;
- existing solar PV arrays cannot be repaired or replaced under it.
DESNZ’s national guidance funds a battery only alongside solar PV. Surrey’s page does not say whether places are currently open or whether there is a waiting list, so ask the county council before planning around it.
Who it reaches in Leatherhead
The KT22 postcode district is largely owner-occupied: around 38.2% of homes owned outright and 33.8% with a mortgage, on 2021 Census-derived figures, with about 16.2% renting privately. Owning your home does not qualify you on its own. The EPC rating and the income, benefit or postcode route decide it. Private tenants can be covered too, since the national scheme includes privately rented homes, but the landlord has to agree to the work. For households that do not meet those tests, the route is an ordinary quote. In KT22, where around 39.7% of properties are detached and 35.3% of homes have four or more bedrooms, the size of the evening load then does more to set the price than any scheme.
What applies to everyone
- VAT. Residential batteries are zero-rated until 31 March 2027 and revert to 5% from 1 April 2027, with or without panels. Our guide to VAT on solar panels and batteries covers what qualifies.
- ECO4. Ofgem says it runs until 31 December 2026; it is aimed at eligible households, not a general battery fund.
- No general grant. England has none for household solar or batteries.
Without a scheme
The Energy Saving Trust puts home batteries at £1,500 to £10,000, about £4,600 for a 5 kWh system, and suggests a typical home system might be 10 kWh with a lifespan of about 10 to 12 years. Size from your evenings, not your floor area: PVGIS puts a 4 kWp south-facing Leatherhead array at about 489 kWh in June but about 136 kWh for the whole of December. Our guide on what size home battery you need walks through it.
Whichever route you take, the network step is the same. Leatherhead is in UK Power Networks’ South Eastern Power Networks area; up to 16 A per phase (3.68 kW) the installer notifies under G98, and above that a G99 approval comes before work starts. We are a NAPIT member (73495), MCS-certified for solar PV and battery storage through NAPIT. For the roof and the town-centre Article 4 check, see our page on solar panels in Leatherhead; for the county, our Surrey solar page.
Sources: Mole Valley District Council news (13 March 2024, climate change goals progress report) and Climate Change Action Plan 2026/27 committee dates; Leatherhead Living, 22 December 2025, solar car port installation at Leisure Centre, corroborated by SurreyLive; Switch Together, Mole Valley page (read 18 October 2026); Surrey County Council, Solar Together Surrey and Warm Homes Local Grant guidance for householders (reviewed 8 October 2026); GOV.UK, Warm Homes: Local Grant successful local authorities (updated 2 July 2026) and guidance; DESNZ, Renewable electricity by local authority 2014 to 2025 (29 September 2026); 2021 Census-derived figures for the KT22 postcode district; HMRC, VAT Notice 708/6; Ofgem, Energy Company Obligation; Energy Saving Trust, Battery storage (updated 19 August 2026); European Commission JRC, PVGIS 5.3 (run 15 October 2026); UK Power Networks licence boundaries; ENA EREC G98 Issue 2.