As the Iran war drives up oil and gas prices, causing the UK to experience its second energy crisis in less than five years, an increasing number of households are looking to solar as a solution.
Renewable energy firms are reporting a surge in interest and data released last week shows 27,000 solar installs were completed in March, the highest monthly total in over a decade.
But one factor stands in the way of Britain embracing a solar revolution: the prohibitive up-front cost that prices out the majority of households.
One east London community believes it has the answer; community solar projects that use the power of collective bargaining and financing to lower costs and share the benefits of renewable energy.
What started as a single-street fundraising project is now expanding across the borough of Walthamstow, with over 130 streets signing up to lower their bills by becoming part of a community ‘power station’.
‘We’ve created community in a time where people are divided’
The Walthamstow Power Station project was born during lockdown, when artists Dan Edelstyn and Hilary Powell set out to answer a basic question.
“If we’re in a climate crisis, why isn’t renewable energy being put everywhere? We have the technology available to have clean, renewable energy. Why is it not being deployed on every viable building?” Edelstyn explained.
The couple slept on their roof for 23 nights to raise money for solar for themselves and their neighbours, creating a documentary in the process.
Charlie Dearman and his neighbours negotiated a 30 per cent discount on their solar install (Photo: Supplied)They raised over £150,000, which paid for solar panels on 16 homes and five local schools.
Edelstyn said the homes have cut their bills by roughly a third and reduced their dependency on fossil fuels.
“Beyond that there is the civic advantage of growing a community of people that want to participate together in something. That feels important at a time where a lot of people are divided,” he said.
‘How do we turn streets into power stations?’
Following the success on their own street, Edelstyn and Powell are now looking to expand the Power Station project across Walthamstow. To do this, they must find a finance model that is more sustainable that crowdfunding.
“Basically that seems to be the area where the most innovation needs to happen, about how it’s financed. The technology of solar definitely works and it’s cheaper than it’s ever been. Getting over the financial hurdles is the biggest problem that we all have,” Edelstyn said.
The project has teamed up with community energy company People Owned Power (POP) Energy to develop a co-op that local people will be able to invest in, which will install solar on people’s homes at no up-front cost.
Households who want solar will pay a fixed subscription fee to the co-op to pay off the solar panels over a set period of time, most likely 15 years. The aim is that this subscription fee will be less than the money households are saving on their bills.
Solar subscriptions schemes are not entirely new and have previously encountered hurdles, including higher long-term costs and difficulties with selling their homes.
Howard John, CEO of POP Energy, said households can either pass the subscription onto their buyer when they sell or will have to pay the panels off. However, he believes the uplift in value of having solar on your property would be enough to offset the cost.
“We’re just trying to make it as equitable as possible really by doing it as a co-operative,” he said.
‘We want this to benefit everyone’
The Power Station project has caught the attention of Walthamstow’s MP, Stella Creasy, who has held a series of meetings to encourage streets to take the plunge on solar panels together.
The most recent meeting took place last week and was attended by over 250 residents, as well as the Energy Secretary, Ed Milliband.
Stella Creasy holding a community meeting about Walthamstow Power Station initiative (Photo: Nicola Tree/Getty Images)“My constituents know exactly how much money they don’t have to pay for the basics,” Creasy said. “It’s a big outlay to get that return so the more we can do using our collective bargaining power to reduce that cost, the more inclusive it can be.”
Over 130 streets have expressed interest in working together to install solar on their streets and Creasy is encouraging them to pursue a number of routes, including the co-op being established by Pop Energy.
Another more straightforward option for residents who are able to shoulder some of the upfront cost, is bulk-buying solar as a street in exchange for a discount.
Walthamstow resident Charlie Dearman is among those who have done this successfully with his neighbours. Eight households on his street negotiated a 30 per cent discount from a company called Everyone Energy by agreeing to have solar installed at the same time.
Dearman paid £4,000 for his solar, which he estimates he will have made back between bill savings and selling excess energy to the grid within five years. He paid an initial £3,000 for a battery, which he estimates will be paid off in seven years.
Neighbours hope to install solar panels on as many homes as possible in Walthamstow (Photo: Richard Newstead/Getty Images)Creasy and her team are also exploring whether they can obtain money from the Government for community solar projects in Walthamstow.
Great British Energy, the Government-owned energy company, is providing up to £1bn for community-owned energy projects by 2030.
It’s not clear how much of this money will be available for projects like those springing up across Walthamstow, but Miliband encouraged residents to apply.
There are still various challenges in place that discourage the widespread take-up of community energy projects.
More innovative ideas, such as trading the solar your panels generate with neighbours still face regulatory hurdles and many households still face practical barriers, such as gaining permission from landlords and freeholders.
But John believes what’s happening in Walthamstow is “the future of energy”.
“It is going to be generated locally. It is going to be across millions of roofs,” he said.
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