London Assembly Member Jenny Jones has released “A Brighter Future for London”, a report asking why London has lowest uptake of solar panels of any region on mainland Britain.
Green Assembly Member and working Peer Jenny Jones has published a report looking at the potential of solar and some of the barriers London faces to joining the solar revolution sweeping the country.
Jenny Jones, right, here visiting solar installations in Kirkless, Yorkshire. London has the lowest uptake of solar panels of any region on mainland Britain.
The report found that only one in 260 London households have gone ahead with solar panels; only an eighth of the rate of installation in the South West of England. This is despite the benefits offered by solar energy – London has the potential to supply a fifth of its electricity needs from photovoltaics. There is currently wide variations in take up rates between London boroughs: LB Waltham Forest has one solar PV installation for every 88 homes, whilst in neighbouring Enfield it’s one for 362 homes.
In order to increase uptake of solar technology in the capital the report recommends the formation of a dedicated City Hall team to help businesses, tenants and communities install solar on the empty roof tops of London’s commercial and industrial businesses, supermarkets, flats, schools, transport and public buildings.
Jenny Jones AM said:
“Given that solar photovoltaics have the greatest potential of any renewable electricity generating technology, it is astonishing that the Mayor is not promoting and helping London’s residents, businesses, schools, communities to harvest solar electricity from their underused and empty roof tops”
“What Londoners deserve is an enthusiastic advocate of solar energy, a clean energy source that will not only cut our bills and our carbon emissions, but it will help address looming energy supply disruptions. What we don’t need is a Mayor fixed on promoting dirty ‘fracking’ wells around the country and all the inherent environmental hazards associated with them.
“The Mayor should learn from the success stories around the UK, or from countries like Germany, which has a similar climate to southern England and recently broke its own record of generating 50% of its total electricity needs from solar energy. Solar panels are easy to install on all shapes and sizes of buildings”