Hackney Solar power transition “Not quite up to scratch”

Only 3/300 of the planned solar panel installations have been carried out so far in Hackney, as the council is failing to keep it with its targets.

Whilst the new mayor, Caroline Woodley, has made it clear that they want to pursue net zero, Antoinette Fernandez, Green Party parliamentary candidate for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, has said that the council’s solar progress so far is “not quite up to scratch”.

She explained that whilst the council has succeeded in setting goals for solar installations, they have needed constant “haranguing” to keep them on the right path to meeting those goals. It was only through her own freedom of information request that she stumbled upon the shocking 3/300 figure.

Gareth Simkins from Solar Energy UK said that “installing solar energy systems on council-owned buildings can make a serious dent in energy bills”, saving the council money in the long run. Meanwhile, he said that there is “room for improvement” when it comes to local council’s commitment to solar energy in general.

Hackney Council has previously partnered with Solar Together to support homeowners install solar panels on their own properties, but there are currently no active schemes for anymore. Meanwhile, other “councils up and down the country are working with local energy groups to install community-owned solar energy on community buildings”.

In the recent autumn statement, the chancellor set out some ways in which the transition to solar energy will be supported, from quicker connection to the national grid to tax breaks for corporations installing solar panels. Solar Energy UK said that these “announcements add up to a real shot in the arm for solar power”.