Cliff Notes
- The Local Government Association (LGA) calls for mandatory solar panel installation on new homes to cut household bills by £440 annually and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Currently, only 40% of new homes in England feature solar power, significantly lagging behind EU standards that require solar panels on all new residential buildings from 2030.
- Environmental groups and the Labour party express strong support for the initiative, although the government’s Future Homes Standard remains pending.
‘Absolute scandal’ of new homes built without solar panels, government urged
The government is being urged to end the “absolute scandal” of new homes being built without solar panels.
Doing so would cut both household bills and greenhouse gases that cause climate change, the Local Government Association (LGA) said in a new report.
Just four in 10 new homes in England come with solar power, according to separate figures from the industry body Solar Energy UK.
Although that is a significant three-fold increase over the space of a year, the LGA said making it mandatory would benefit bill-payers and the climate for years to come, saving people £440 per year.
The UK lags behind its neighbours in the European Union, which last year adopted new legislation demanding all new residential buildings come with solar panels from 2030.
Greenpeace UK called it an “absolute scandal that homes are built without rooftop solar panels in this day and age”.
Its campaigner, Lily Rose Ellis, said: “Given the soaring cost of electricity, our desperate need to cut planet-heating emissions, and the relatively low cost of installation to housebuilders, solar panels on all new builds should be mandatory.”
Last year, Labour promised a “rooftop revolution” that would see millions more homes fitted with solar panels.
But they have been accused of wavering over proposals to make it mandatory, as it also courts the house-building industry to help it meet its target to build 1.5 million homes during this parliament.