Ed Miliband to invest in solar power to create ‘zero bill’ homes
Millions of homeowners could soon be eligible for grants to install solar panels, heat pumps and battery storage as part of the government’s drive to lower bills and boost support for green energy.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband is expected to set out plans for new “zero bill” homes next month, including proposals to allocate as much as £13bn over the next four years to cut emissions.
Accordingly TimesThe warm homes fund is expected to pour billions of pounds into solar power alongside batteries and heat pumps; The move is expected to result in some homes paying little or no money on their energy bills, while others will see significant annual outages.
The emphasis on solar power comes after Labor promised at the last election to cut energy bills by £300 during the course of parliament.
A government source told The Times the plans were “all about bills”.
Ministers are also expected to ease restrictions on plug-in solar panels, which can be installed on balconies, terraces or flat roofs and plugged into electrical sockets by residents without needing specialist assistance.
The government will publish its warm homes plan next month, which is expected to include offers to subsidize households that want to install solar panels with batteries that store energy for later use.
While all households will reportedly benefit, poorer households are expected to receive the most assistance with upfront costs.
Ministers are also said to be planning to work with banks and energy companies to provide capital for schemes that would allow homes to install the equipment at no up-front cost and then be paid back with bills over five or ten years.
Nigel Banks, technical director at Octopus Energy, said up to a million homes with good insulation could cut their bills to almost nothing if they installed solar panels, batteries and a heat pump.
“Thanks to flexible energy tariffs, homeowners now have the opportunity to pay virtually no energy bills,” he said.
“Even homes where this is not the case will benefit because the cost of paying the capital cost will be significantly less than any savings that could be made on bills. The more consumers can benefit from this, the better.”
Earlier this month, government figures showed it had given the green light for an additional 4.5GW of solar and 4.7GW of offshore wind since coming to power in July 2024.
Ministers said this additional 9.2 GW, which should come online by 2030, could alone power more than 73 million Christmas trees and broadcast the King’s speech to more than 7.5 billion television sets.
The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero has been contacted for comment.
