Not yet. Octopus filed a plug-in solar microinverter with the Energy Networks Association on 25 August 2026, and it sits on the register as Non-compliant. Filing is not approval. Here is what was actually filed, what it is, and what it signals.
There is a pattern worth learning if you are going to follow this market, and the Octopus filing is a clean example of it. A brand name appearing on the ENA register generates headlines that sound like an approval. It is not one. The register has two states that matter, Compliant and Non-compliant, and the gap between filing and clearing has so far run anywhere from a week to never. Anker filed first, on 3 August, and is still Non-compliant nearly four weeks later. UKSOL filed later and cleared on 18 August.
One device, not a kit. The entry is a microinverter rated at 0.8 kW single phase, which is the export ceiling the DESNZ Interim Product Specification sets for every plug-in solar device. The model number is M1-800-E.
The detail that tells you most is what else appeared the same day. FoxESS filed FOXES/21121/V1 on 25 August 2026, and it is the same model number, M1-800-E, at the same 0.8 kW, also Non-compliant. Octopus is not building a microinverter. It is putting its name on a Fox ESS M1. That is an ordinary and entirely legitimate arrangement, and it is worth knowing because it tells you the hardware is a known quantity with an established manufacturer behind it rather than something built from scratch for the UK launch.
| Reference | Filed by | Model | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OCTOQ/21124/V1 | Octopus Energy | M1-800-E, 0.8 kW single phase | 25 Aug 2026 | Non-compliant |
| FOXES/21121/V1 | FoxESS | M1-800-E, 0.8 kW single phase | 25 Aug 2026 | Non-compliant |
| Recorded from the ENA G98/G99 Type Test Verification Register, Plug-in Solar device type, checked 28 August 2026. Statuses change, so check the register before buying anything. | ||||
Every other name on this register is a hardware business: panel makers, inverter makers, a plumbing merchant. Octopus is an energy supplier with millions of customers, a tariff engine and an existing installation arm. A supplier does not file a microinverter in order to sell microinverters.
The obvious play is bundling. A plug-in kit is a small, low-commitment product that suits being sold alongside a tariff, financed over a bill, or handed to a customer as part of a smart-energy package. That is a very different route to market from a £989 box on the Argos shelf, and it is the route most likely to move volume, because it removes the upfront cost that is currently the biggest obstacle. It is also how balcony solar scaled in Germany, where energy retailers and large platforms did as much of the selling as solar specialists.
The caution I would attach: a supplier bundling hardware with a tariff is a structure that can bury the real cost. If and when this launches, the number to ask for is the cash price of the kit, separately from whatever the tariff does, so it can be compared per watt with everything on our pricing table.
Nobody can tell you when, or whether, OCTOQ/21124/V1 clears. There is no published assessment timetable, the sample of clearances so far is tiny, and Anker's four weeks and counting shows that filing early guarantees nothing.
What can be said is that the direction of travel is now measurable. On 19 August there were seven compliant kits from one manufacturer and the cheapest was around £583. Ten days later there are twenty from five, and the cheapest is £549.99. Every additional entrant has pushed the floor down. If you can wait, waiting has been the cheaper decision every week so far, and an energy supplier entering is more likely to accelerate that than reverse it. If you need a kit now, buy from the compliant list and check the model code rather than the brand.
No. As at 28 August 2026 Octopus has filed a microinverter with the ENA but it is listed as Non-compliant, and there is no Octopus plug-in solar product on sale that is lawful to plug in.
That a device cannot be deemed compliant at this stage, typically because type testing and documentation are still being completed. It is a staging state rather than a rejection. A device has to move to Compliant before it is lawful to connect under the plug-in route.
On the evidence of the register, yes. Octopus filed OCTOQ/21124/V1 and FoxESS filed FOXES/21121/V1 on the same day, both for a model M1-800-E at 0.8 kW single phase.
Twenty kits from five manufacturers are listed as Compliant: UKSOL, Perlight Solar, Thunder Energy, InstaGroup and City Plumbing Supplies. Our register tracker lists all twenty with model codes and the prices we have verified at source.
I check the register regularly and will update this page if the Octopus or FoxESS entries change status. If you spot a change before I do, [email protected].
Sources: ENA G98/G99 Type Test Verification Register, Plug-in Solar device type, checked 28 August 2026; DESNZ Plug-in Solar Device Interim Product Specification. No commercial relationship with any manufacturer or supplier named on this page. Educational information, not legal or electrical advice.
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