Lower housebuyers’ bills with solar panels on newbuild roofs, ministers urged
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Housebuilders should lower buyers’ bills with solar panels on every roof, renewable energy charity and company chiefs have urged. The seven chief executives and directors have called on Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to back the Sunshine Bill when MPs debate it in the new year.
If MPs back the draft legislation, which the Liberal Democrats’ Max Wilkinson tabled for a debate on January 17, it would bake into law a standard for newbuilds to come with solar panels on their roofs. Mr Wilkinson said the proposal is “just really, really obvious” amid efforts to reduce carbon emissions and lower costs.
“Taking this one simple step would pay back to new homeowners, via lower energy bills, in just a few short years, helping protect homeowners from high and fluctuating energy bills,” according to the letter. It continued: “Pressure on the wider grid would be reduced and the likely outcome would be a reduction in the country’s emissions too, in line with climate change targets.”.
Its signatories, among them Ecotricity chief executive Asif Rehmanwala and E.On Next director of residential newbuild Matthew Hart, also wrote: “The twin crises of high energy bills and climate change present this country with many challenges, but there are also a number of solutions that could be relatively easily implemented.
