Millions of homeowners could soon be eligible for grants to install solar panels, heat pumps and battery storage as part of an attempt from the government to slash bills and boost support for green power.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband is expected to set out plans for new “zero bill” homes next month, including proposals to allocate as much as £13bn over the next four years to cut emissions.
According to The Times, the warm homes fund is expected to pour billions of pounds into solar energy alongside batteries and heat pumps, a move it is hoped will leave some homes paying little or no money for their energy bills, while others are expected to see significant cuts annually.
The emphasis on solar comes after Labour at the last election promised to cut energy bills by £300 during the course of this parliament.
One government source told The Times that the plans are “all about bills”.
It comes as ministers are also expected to reduce restrictions on plug-in solar panels, which can be installed on balconies, patios or flat roofs and plugged into a power point by residents, without the need for specialist support.
The government is due to publish its warm homes plan next month, which is expected to include proposals to subsidise households wanting to install solar panels with batteries that store power for use later.
While all households will reportedly benefit, poorer households are expected to get the most help with upfront costs.
Ministers are also said to be planning to work with banks and energy companies to provide capital for schemes which would allow homes to install the equipment with no upfront costs then repaid in bills over five or ten years.
Nigel Banks, technical director at Octopus Energy, said as many as one million homes with good insulation could slash their bills to almost nothing if they installed solar panels, batteries and a heat pump.
“With flexible energy tariffs, the opportunity is now there for homeowners to effectively pay no energy bills at all,” he said.
“Even homes where that isn’t the case will also benefit, as the cost of paying off the capital cost will be significantly less than the savings that can be made in bills. The more consumers can benefit from this the better.”
Earlier this month, government figures showed it had given the green light to an additional 4.5GW of solar and 4.7GW of offshore wind since it came to power in July 2024.
This additional 9.2GW – which should be up and running by 2030 – can alone power more than 73 million Christmas trees and broadcast the King’s speech to in excess of 7.5 billion TVs, ministers said.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has been contacted for comment.