Labour gears up for solar power ‘rooftop revolution’

Energy secretary Ed Miliband sets target to triple the UK’s solar capacity by 2030.

Announced on Sunday, the Labour party is making moves to ensure installing solar panels on existing homes is made both easy and accessible, with new homes coming with pre-installed panels. The ambition is primed to reduce domestic energy bills and mitigate the climate crisis with cleaner energy supply for UK homes. Labour’s target to triple the UK’s solar capacity by 2030 is running alongside similar targets to double onshore wind and quadruple offshore wind.

“I want to unleash a UK solar rooftop revolution,” said Miliband. “We will encourage builders and homeowners in whatever way we can to deliver this win-win technology to millions of addresses in the UK so people can provide their own electricity, cut their bills and at the same time help fight climate change.”

Miliband has already lifted the de facto ban on onshore wind in a bid to embrace the UK’s renewable energy potential.

Building a solar nation

The government aims to deliver on this 2030 target in a number of ways. Firstly, although formal planning permission isn’t required to install rooftop solar on a home, there are restrictions as to where on the building they can be placed which has deterred potential buyers in the past. Conservation areas and listed buildings also have more prominent restrictions, all of which will be re-addressed through the government’s new policy,

Alongside the “rooftop revolution,” Miliband has approved three large solar farm projects across the east of England: Gate Burton in Lincolnshire, Sunnica energy farm between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, and Mallard Pass between Lincolnshire and Rutland. These solar farm projects had previously been shunned by Tory ministers, making Miliband’s move a controversial one.