Thousands of households are due to 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 has announced that £74m in funding has been allocated to more than 100 local authorities for energy efficiency upgrades taking place by June 2021, and around £126m to 81 local authorities for works to be completed by September 2021. A further £300m 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 and with minimal intrusion amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The bulk of a solar installation is conducted externally, on the rooftop of a home, and a single 3.5KW solar PV system typically costs around £5000 today — less when scaled across multiple projects.
Solar Energy UK Chief Executive Chris Hewett 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.”
The Green Homes Grants Local Authority Delivery scheme is administered separately to the Green Homes Grants Voucher scheme, which has been beset with administrative issues and the subject of significant industry frustration in recent weeks. [2]
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