The London Borough of Hackney has unveiled a new solar system that will help council tenants save money on their energy bills.
From January 2025, a total of 4,000 solar panels will be installed in 28 blocks across three of Hackney Council’s residential areas, giving 800 households the opportunity to benefit from cleaner and greener energy. In what the local government says is the first scheme of its kind, Emergent Energy has developed an innovative microgrid solution, allowing residents of the blocks with solar panels to purchase power at around 15% less than the average market rate for electricity in the area. . The initial solar installation will generate approximately 1MW of electricity, approximately one fifth of the needs of the installed blocks.
The initial rollout of solar panels is being carried out in partnership with Hackney Light and Power and Emergent Energy, in addition to support from the Greater London Authority and UK energy regulator Ofgem. The installation is being funded by a £2 million investment from Hackney Council, which the local authority says will be repaid through the sale of power generated by the solar PV developments.
Hackney Council is extremely optimistic about the potential to expand these types of initiatives to other social housing projects and private flats across the UK. The council notes that if this approach is scaled up to Britain’s 5.4 million flats, including 2 million social housing flats, these types of projects could generate as much as 6.75 GW of solar energy, with a total value of £13.5 billion of clean energy. energy investment.
“Hackney Council has a proud reputation as a leader in tackling climate change – but my priority has always been that local people should benefit first. That’s why we’re so excited to launch a new ground-breaking program that will deliver greener energy and lower bills for council tenants across the borough,” said Caroline Woodley, Mayor of Hackney.
Reg Platt, founder and CEO of Emergent Energy, added: “No one should miss out on the benefits of locally sourced clean energy because of their income level or the type of home they live in. That’s why we’ve created this new opportunity for social housing apartment residents to receive savings on their energy bills through rooftop solar.
“Our approach is self-financing, as this ground-breaking project in Hackney will demonstrate. This means we can offer these benefits to potentially millions of residents without having to rely on government subsidies.”
