New Homes (Solar Generation) Bill 2024-25

The Private Members’ Bill on New Homes (Solar Generation), sponsored by Max Wilkinson (Lib Dem), will have its second reading on 17 January 2025.

Clean energy mission

The government has set a mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. The clean energy mission is part of the UK’s wider target to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Part of this mission is a target for clean energy to produce at least 95% of Great Britain’s electricity by 2030. In December 2024, the government published its Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, which set how it intends to meet the 2030 target. This included a target for the installation of 45-47 gigawatts (GW) of solar energy by 2030, up from a current level of 16.6 GW. The plan also noted that there is the potential for an additional 9-10 GW if rooftop solar could be deployed by 2030. The government’s independent statutory body, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has reported that meeting this target will require faster roll-out of renewable energy, including solar.

The government announced in July 2024 a ‘rooftop revolution’ to encourage builders and homeowners to install solar energy on properties. As part of its efforts to stimulate growth in the solar sector, the government relaunched the Solar Taskforce, that will publish a solar roadmap to accelerate deployment of solar energy and secure investment in the sector.

The government has several schemes to support the installation of solar panels. This includes the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), and the Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Warm Homes: Social Funding. Owners of solar panels can also be paid for any surplus electricity they generate from solar panels through the Smart Export Guarantee and there is a zero rate of VAT on residential solar panels. Further assistance will be provided through the proposed Warm Homes Plan, which will provide grants and low interest loans for energy efficiency measures, including solar panels.

Building regulations and the Future Homes Standard

Building regulations are devolved and this briefing primarily covers England. For further information on building regulations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, see the Library briefing on Building regulations and safety (July 2024). In England, building work is governed by building regulations set out in the Building Act 1984 and the Building Regulations 2010.

Building regulations do not currently mandate that solar panels must be installed on new homes. They set out some requirements that must be met when there is on-site generation of electricity.

The previous government consulted on a Future Homes Standard (FHS) in 2019 and 2020, and consulted again on a detailed specification from November 2023 to March 2024. The previous government did not publish a response or consultation outcome on the detailed specification before the 2024 General Election. The current government has said it will publish a response in due course.

The 2023/24 consultation on the detailed specification for the FHS sought views on whether to require solar photovoltaic (PV) panels for new homes. Solar PV generation turns the sun’s energy into electricity. Option 1 would have required solar PV panels covering the equivalent of 40% of a new home’s ground floor area. For flats, the dwelling floor area would be divided by the number of storeys in the block. The government suggested that solar PV panels would not be required for blocks of flats over 15 storeys, because of limited roof space and potentially disproportionate maintenance costs.

Section 4.3 of the Library briefing on housing and net zero summarises stakeholder views on the Future Homes Standard (FHS).

What would the bill do?

The bill would require the Secretary of State to make regulations requiring all new homes built from 1 October 2026 to have solar photovoltaic (PV) generation installed. These regulations would generally require that solar PV systems must cover an area equivalent to at least 40% of the new home’s ground floor area. This reflects the previous government’s proposals in the 2023 Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation which also suggested 40% equivalent of ground floor area as one option.

The regulations would provide exemptions, including for buildings exceeding 15 storeys (again reflecting the proposal in the government’s 2023 consultation), buildings with other forms of renewable energy generation, and buildings where solar PV generation equipment is not cost effective to install.

Stakeholder views

Most of the available stakeholder commentary has focused on the government’s FHS proposal on adding solar PV panels to new homes, but there has been some support specifically for this bill.

The MCS Foundation, a charity that oversees the standards for home renewable energy systems in the UK, has supported the bill. It has reported on surveys carried out by YouGov that found a majority of both MPs and the public are in favour of solar panels on new homes. Some charities, including the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), have urged constituents to ask their MP to support the bill at its second reading. The bill is also being referred to as the ‘Sunshine Bill’, as noted in a letter from energy industry organisations supporting the bill to the government (December 2024).

Housing developers have largely not yet commented publicly on the bill, but some views are available on the proposed FHS. The Home Builders Federation (HBF) expressed concerns about option 1 in the FHS consultation, including that mandating solar panels would restrict housebuilding innovation, that estimates of running costs were unrealistic, and that no account had been taken taken of maintence costs borne by homeowners. It considered the proposed 40% area coverage requirement to be very high. The house builder Vistry Group, was generally supportive of option 1 for the FHS, which it felt would lower consumer bills compared to option 2.

The National House Building Council (NHBC), referring to solar panels in general, has said that “providing the maintenance costs and pay-back periods are accurately predicted, this reliable technology [solar panels] has a role”.

The Guardian article Solar panels for new homes may just be optional after pressure on Labour from housebuilders (October 2024) reported that the new government was considering making solar panels on new homes optional following concerns raised by housebuilders. The article reported the HBF had lobbied for flexibility to “dispense with solar in favour of other low-carbon options, as not all house types or roof designs were suitable for solar panels”.

In response to such concerns, the government published a blog on the Future Homes Standard and solar panels (24 October 2024). It stated that the government wanted solar panels on as many new homes as possible, but that a fundamental principle of building regulations was not to constrain innovation.