If in power, UK's Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn has promised solar panels for 1.75 million homes in the country which he said would kickstart a Green Industrial Revolution. Excess electricity generated by the panels would be fed into the national grid.
The plan is to fit solar panels on 1 million social homes and those of low-income households. It would provide clean and free energy and help residents to save an average of £117 annually on their electricity bills, which could rise to £270 for retired households. Any unused electricity generated by the program would be used by the national grid, which would lead to an additional £66 million per year for local authorities as the Labour Party would take the grid into public ownership, said Shadow Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Secretary Rebecca Long Bailey.
The other 750,000 homes will be encouraged to install solar panels by offering them interest free loans, grants and changes to regulations. According to the party, this policy would create 16,900 jobs.
"Too many think of green measures as just another way for companies or the government to get money out of them, while the rich fly about in private jets and heat their empty mansions," said Corbyn. "Our Green Industrial Revolution will benefit working class people with cheaper energy bills, more rewarding well-paid jobs, and new industries to revive the parts of our country that have been held back for far too long."
Not surprisingly, the Solar Trade Association (STA) of the UK has welcomed the announcement with open arms saying the solar homes push would give a tremendous boost to green good quality and local jobs across the UK.
The announcement comes at a time when solar broke an all time generation record in the country as it hit a peak capacity of 9.47 GW around noon on May 13, 2019, surpassing the previous record of 9.38 GW set in May 2017. STA says it was broken again on May 14, 2019 with a peak of 9.55 GW reached at around 12.30 pm.