New homes in England to be fitted with solar panels by 2027

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - Almost all new homes in England will be built with solar panels within the next two years, as the government prepares to legally require housebuilders to install them on new properties by 2027.

The policy, which is part of Labour's wider net-zero agenda, is expected to increase the cost of building a home. Homeowners could save more than £1,000 per year on their energy bills, according to The Times.

Labour has pledged to build 1.5 million homes by the end of this parliament and has set ambitious climate goals, including decarbonizing the electricity grid by 2030 and cutting household energy bills by £300 a year.

Ministers are also preparing to roll out government-funded loans and grants to help people install solar panels on their existing homes.

The announcement comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer rejected criticism of net-zero policies made by former Labour leader Tony Blair.

In a high-profile intervention just days before the local elections, Blair said there needed to be a radical reset of “irrational” net-zero policies that are “doomed to fail.”

He argued that the public is being asked to make “financial sacrifices and changes in lifestyle” that would have “minimal” effects on global emissions.

Blair also said the drive to phase out fossil fuels in the short term is “doomed to fail” because their production and demand are rising.

His comments angered government figures and prompted senior officials in No. 10 to contact the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), urging it to respond to the backlash.

On Wednesday morning, the TBI issued a clarifying statement saying it believed the government’s net-zero policy was “the right one.”

Blair’s remarks were widely interpreted as an attack on Starmer’s climate agenda.

In response, the prime minister reaffirmed his commitment, saying that tackling the climate crisis and strengthening energy security were “in the DNA of my government.”