Thousands of households will receive free green home improvements this year under the Green Homes Grants Local Authority Delivery scheme, with solar PV and solar thermal eligible alongside other technologies and building fabric upgrades.
The government announced that £74 million has been allocated to more than 100 local authorities for energy efficiency upgrades taking place by June 2021, and around £126 million to 81 local authorities for works to be completed by September 2021.
Moreover, a further £300 million has been distributed to England’s five Local Energy Hubs, rolling out home improvements up to December 2021.
Solar PV and thermal technologies will offer an attractive option to local authorities keen to upgrade domestic energy efficiency cost-effectively. The bulk of a solar installation is conducted externally, on the rooftop of a home, meaning the installation is COVID safe.
A single 3.5KW solar PV system typically costs around £5,000 – less when scaled across multiple projects.
Chris Hewett, chief executive of Solar Energy UK, said: “It is great to see a successful government initiative on green retrofitting of homes. The fact that some social housing will be getting solar power and solar heat installations because of this scheme is especially good news.
“It shows that integration of low-carbon technologies is critical to any retrofitting programme and government support is still needed to reduce fuel poverty. £500 million well spent, but we are going to need a lot more to boost job creation and the green economic recovery.”
