Thursday 16 May 2013
The city of London is lagging behind on solar installations compared to other parts of the country, according to a new report.
It found London boroughs make up 23 out of the 25 lowest ranking local authorities and the capital fell in the bottom 10 in the national league table. The boroughs of Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Tower Hamlets, the City of London and Hammersmith and Fulham are listed in the bottom five.
With 362,000 homes having solar panels installed in the UK since April 2010, the analysis by consultancy group WSP revealed the highest average solar installations are in rural areas such as mid Wales and Cornwall, while London and the West Midlands are far behind.
Mid Devon was found to be the “solar panel capital” of the UK, with Wrexham and South Hams in the second and third position. Westminster in London, however, has an installation rate of a mere one in every 2,500 households.
The report stated: “If solar panels are going to be one of our green energies of the future then there’s still plenty to do. Poorer performer housing associations have to be highlighted, there needs to be more trust in energy companies and installers and – ultimately – panels have to become more efficient and cheaper still.”