UK government’s new £200 million renewable energy initiative will provide solar panels to schools and NHS sites, aiming to reduce public sector energy bills. The announcement comes as Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch signals a retreat from the Conservative’s previous support for the cross-party commitment to net zero by 2050
The UK government has announced its first major project for Great British Energy, aimed at reducing energy bills for public services through the installation of solar panels on schools and NHS sites across England.
The £200 million initiative is part of the government’s attempts to alleviate the financial strain caused by rising energy costs on public services. Around 200 schools and 200 NHS sites across the UK will see rooftop solar panels installed, with the government promising millions of pounds of savings over the next 30 years.
The solar panels will be installed by the end of summer 2025. The programme is allocating £80 million for solar panel installations at schools, with a further £100 million directed towards NHS sites.
The aspiration is that schools and hospitals will also be able to sell surplus energy back to the grid. The government claims the initiative could deliver up to £400 million in lifetime savings.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband said: “This is our clean energy superpower mission in action, with lower bills and energy security for our country.”
Juergen Maier, chair of Great British Energy, said the scheme marked “the first step in Great British Energy’s work with local communities to help them generate their own energy.” He added that partnering with the public sector would help “crowd in investment and create job opportunities across the country” as the company works to scale up future projects.
In addition to the core solar scheme, nearly £12 million will support local authority and community-led clean energy projects, including onshore wind, hydropower and rooftop solar. A further £9.3 million will fund similar initiatives in devolved nations.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “This investment will not only cut energy bills for schools but also help young people develop the green skills they need for the jobs of the future.”
Design Council chief executive Minnie Moll welcomed the announcement, saying: “This announcement is a significant opportunity to combine the power of clean energy innovation with inclusive and sustainable design that supports the long-term resilience of our schools, hospitals and communities.”
But shadow energy secretary Andrew Bowie criticised the government’s net zero strategy, claiming it would leave the UK “poorer”.
The announcement came in the same week that Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, in a policy review, signalled an end to the UK’s commitment to achieving net zero by 2050. Badenoch claimed that the target is “impossible” and stated that current policies are failing to deliver on climate goals while driving up energy costs.
Her decision to abandon the net zero commitment represents a break from the cross-party consensus that had guided UK climate policy since 2019, when the net zero target was enshrined in law under Theresa May’s government.
Badenoch reinforced the shift by describing the UK’s existing climate strategy as “fantasy politics, built on nothing, promising the Earth”. Her comments were seen by some as aligning with the Trump administration’s policies in the US, where the federal government is engaged in a wide-ranging effort to roll back environental standards and regulation.
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