Wales first part of UK to mandate solar panels on new buildings
Wales first part of UK to mandate solar panels on new buildings
Posted by Wagamaga
Wales first part of UK to mandate solar panels on new buildings
Wales first part of UK to mandate solar panels on new buildings
Posted by Wagamaga
13 Comments
Wales will be the first part of the United Kingdom to mandate solar on new buildings when new building regulations come into force on Mar. 4, 2027, ahead of similar rules expected to come into force in England.
The updated building regulations for Wales do not explicitly set out a PV mandate but they do introduce a requirement for “a system for renewable electricity generation” to be installed on site. Solar Energy UK expects rooftop solar will therefore be deployed “in virtually every circumstance” as the most practical and affordable way to comply. The new rules will apply to new buildings that have not started construction when the regulations come into force.
“This is tremendous news for Wales and I applaud the Welsh Government for their wise decision,” said Chris Hewett, chief executive of Solar Energy UK. The trade association has lobbied for solar power to be “all but mandatory” on new homes and buildings.
This is great news and something which should have been introduced long before now
This is not the ‘slam dunk everyone’s a winner’ story that some people seem to think it is, and we have a solar system on our house so I am not “anti solar”. In fact I would recommend them to anyone with a south facing unobstructed roof, **but many properties will not have south facing roofs and/or be in shade !** These proposed regulations are yet more virtue signalling “let someone else pay” half baked nonsense regulations which only make sense to someone who doesn’t know much about it (or is totally blinkered).
How much will the new build homes increase due to the solar panels and infrastructure inside for them?
Because people will end up avoiding them because of the increased costs and maintenance of them (even though it’s not much maintenance)
>New building regulations for Wales include an exemption that help to stop uneconomical and impractical systems from being installed purely for compliance reasons. Under the rules, if it is not possible to install a system capable of generating at least 720 kWh per year on a proposed building then the requirement will not apply.
Good, when I saw the headline I thought we’d get malicious compliance builders putting in solar panels that are only big enough to power a AA battery. I hope that they’ve put some sort of scale to the regulations, otherwise we might see the same 720 kWh units fitted to a house as a whole Amazon sized warehouse.
It does tickle me that they had to add “Welsh castles and other historic buildings will be exempt.” I’m not aware that Wales (or anywhere for that matter) is proposing any new castles to be built. Suppose it’s more to silence the critics of saying it’ll spoil their view of history or some shite.
All generic industrial units should have solar installed and any urban car parks should have solar panels installed as shading or meet biodiversity requirements (i.e be constructed porously surrounding a network of trees like the continent has done since cars were a thing).
These fields of tarmac with a dozen sickly trees clinging onto life in a small cube of soil sicken me.
Ah yes, let’s increase the cost of housebuilding during a housing crisis. That’ll help
The new Welsh flag could be a variant in the Manx three legged symbol but with propellor blades for a wind generator 🙂
Mae gen i ormod o goesau!
with housing still being largely unaffordable in a lot of areas and slow to build I wonder how much money and time this will add on.
I think in reality the cost will be a drop in the bucket to developers especially since they will be able to provide large contracts and hopefully get some efficiency of scale + competition for the installation, but we all know that developers love to fleece us.
That’s a great idea. We got them for our business last year, fully covers everything before the kitchen is turned on. On a good day, it saves us about 25% which is solid.
Who owns the energy generated from the solar panels? Who’s liable for the maintenance?
What happens in leasehold flats?
What safeguards are there to stop landlords from “double dipping” in charging extra in rent for the “added benefit” of having the solar panels and then pocketing the benefits of cheaper energy?
Scotland has mandated this ages ago.
Most builders put some small PV installation in the roof, it’s not much but if it was everywhere it could potentially make a big difference. The other positive is that the PVs are more integrated into the roof and they look better.
Short sighted.
I agree with making your property green but there are ways and means. If I was a rich millionaire wanting to settle in the countryside and have a thatched roof cottage, well, Wales isnt the country anymore is it? It could have been previously. . .
If they let you offset it with an extra payment, or doubling down on another piece of land instead