Pressure on Rishi Sunak to bolster UK’s green credentials fitting new homes with solar panels after he rolled back net-zero pledges
Conservative MPs have demanded the Government require all new homes with solar panels to be fitted to boost the UK’s energy security.
Ministers are consulting on an update of building regulations to specify how new homes must be built and are choosing between two options. One includes a requirement to install rooftop solar panels equal to 40 per cent of the property’s ground-floor area.
Tory MPs in the dozens-strong Conservative Environment Network (CEN) have urged ministers to plump for this option.
The less ambitious second option is described by the Government as a “minimal approach to achieve ‘zero-carbon ready’ homes that deliver at least 75 per cent carbon savings compared to 2013 energy efficiency requirements”.
The call by Tory MPs will increase pressure on Rishi Sunak to bolster the UK’s green credentials after he rolled back net-zero pledges last year, including pushing back the petrol and diesel car ban by five years, to 2035
Duncan Baker, who sits on the Commons Environmental Audit Committee, said the move was necessary in order to be better prepared for the next international energy crisis, after the Ukraine war caused household bills to soar, forcing the Government to step in with tens of billions of pounds in support for bill-payers.
Read more: inews