- Suffolk County Council is to disconnect solar panels at 80 schools following three recent fires
- Solar systems installed between 2011 and 2016 are believed to be affected
- Regular maintenance of aging solar cell components is essential
Suffolk County Council has ordered a precautionary shutdown of solar panels at around 80 schools after three separate fires were linked to such installations.
While the solar panels have not been deemed to be at fault, they were identified as a potential factor in the three cases, the council said.
The decision to shut down solar panels across the 80 schools affects solar systems installed between 2011 and 2016 under a then-county-wide scheme where engineers are deployed across all sites to isolate the systems.
Safety measures
Suffolk Council stressed that the solar installations are not entirely at fault until inspections are carried out, but that safety shutdowns will be in place in the meantime.
The latest incident, which took place at Sidegate Primary School on June 24, suggested the fire may have started near rooftop solar panels installed in 2012.
“While investigations are still at an early stage, initial discussions with Suffolk Fire and Rescue indicate that the fire may be linked to solar panels installed on the roof of one of the school buildings,” the council wrote on June 25, 2026.
“We cannot take the risk that these incidents were unrelated or random – we must act with caution to eliminate any potential fire risk,” wrote Suffolk County Council’s chief executive for children and young people, Sarah-Jane Smedmor, stressing the safety of children, young people and staff at schools.
Engineers deployed to isolate the solar systems expect the temporary outages to have been carried out within two weeks while the council continues “further investigative work”, although a wider timeline and details of potential reconnections are unclear.
Security Concerns for Aging Solar Infrastructure
The council’s decision reflects growing concern that early-generation solar systems now use aging electrical components that can have failures across connectors, insulators and inverters, as the technology has developed and modernized drastically in recent years as solar systems become more democratized and accessible to home owners and commercial applications.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband plans to increase the UK’s solar capacity from 18GW to 85GW by 2035.
It also emphasizes the importance of regular inspection and maintenance throughout the life of a solar system, which should be serviced just like a gas boiler to ensure safety and optimal operating conditions.
However, the alarming news comes as Britain continues to expand the deployment of solar power under government plans to reduce carbon emissions, with public sector buildings being fitted with panels and homeowners eligible for cost-cutting grants.
The incidents also came as the UK entered its second main wave of the season, with predictions of a third on the horizon, raising concerns that these installations may not be suitable for higher temperatures.
Tony Slade, an energy expert quoted by BBCemphasized that “this is not a renewable energy problem, but potentially an electrical system specification, installation and maintenance problem.”
Previous reporting of The Times even noted that despite firefighters responding to a solar panel-related fire every other day in 2024, failures are more likely to be caused by inverters and problematic wiring rather than excess heat on the panels themselves.
“Safe installation and maintenance of solar panels is critical to reducing fires,” QBE Insurance Risk Engineer Adrian Simmonds wrote then.
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