Social housing around the UK is to benefit from a £160m investment by the Dutch firm Mass Capital to install solar panels that will reduce the bills of 800,000 households.
Greg Hands, Minister for International Trade, endorsed the Community Energy Scheme which has seen solar brand Solarplicity collaborate with local authorities across the UK.
“This initial £160m capital expenditure programme will deliver massive benefits to some of the UK’s poorest households,” he said.
“As well as creating 1000 jobs and delivering cheaper energy bills for up to 800,000 homes, it shows yet another vote of confidence in the UK as a place to invest and do business.”
He visited a care home in Ealing which is one of the first buildings involved in the scheme. Around 100,000 households will receive panels in the next 18 months and by the time the scheme is fully implemented 83,000 London households will have panels.
It may sound like the department has overblown its role in the new business venture with the minister emphasising the post-Brexit implications of Dutch investment in the UK’s energy market but Solaplicity says Hands was indeed instrumental in securing the £160m investment towards a goal of £1bn.
Pieter Smit, the investment director of Maas Capital, said the project showed that money from private investors could be utiltised both to reduce carbon emissions and to help those in society who are struggling just to keep the lights on. “This transaction is a prime example of how we support our partners in their ambitions towards creating a more sustainable future and to further accelerate the energy transition,” he said
The Benefits
The Department for International Trade claims that the panels could save households £240 a year in utility bills. That could be a game-changer for people living in “fuel poverty” with northern and Midlands towns high on the agenda. Hands also said the jobs involved in installing the panels would be targeted towards military veterans.
“Today’s announcement is a reflection of our exciting growth in the energy market, backed by international capital investment through the Department for International Trade,” said David Elbourne, the chief executive of Solarplicity. “Solarplicity is committed to reducing energy bills for both solar and non-solar customers,” he said. “Equipping them with the latest smart technologies, and 100% renewable energy, they are guaranteed to save with our Fair Market Price.”
Tenants will still pay a fixed-rate tariff to Solarplicity for the electricity they generate, which it says will be less than the variable rates of the “Big Six” energy suppliers. The firm will also benefit from the feed-in tariff under which tenants sell their surplus electricity back to the national grid. While Elbourne says households use only 80% of the power they generate, if they do need any additional electricity they will be using Solarplicity as their provider.
Trustworthy?
The housing associations will receive a share of the profits to go into local community projects. The project seems such a win-win idea that some scepticism is inevitable but experts have noted the falling cost of solar panels, which has prompted a reduction in the Government’s feed-in tariff. With energy prices climbing ever higher, the creation of a guaranteed UK-wide market of social tenants buying their own green energy at prices reported to be 27% below the fair market price suggests the sun will continue to shine on such projects.
by Stewart Vickers
The post Climate: Social Housing Goes Solar appeared first on Felix Magazine.
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