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Government consultation offers hope of rooftop solar on new buildings
In a major development for CPRE’s rooftop solar campaign, the government has launched a consultation on changes to building regulations, including proposals for mandatory rooftop solar on most new buildings.
The consultation is part of the ‘Future Homes and Buildings Standard 2025’, which sets out the rules around the construction of new buildings. Among other things, it covers energy efficiency and carbon emissions in new homes and non-domestic buildings. Within the consultation is an option for rooftop solar be installed as standard on new homes and buildings such as warehouses and shopping centres.
Read and respond to the consultation
Recent research for CPRE by the University College London (UCL) highlighted the enormous potential of rooftops to host most of the solar panels we need. CPRE’s campaign calls on the government to act on this win-win opportunity to reduce carbon emissions, cut bills, and spare land for farming and wildlife.
In a recent survey of our supporters, we found that 97% believe that rooftop solar panels should be a standard requirement for all new buildings and car parks. This forms of the key asks in CPRE’s manifesto for the next government.
Following support from 35 parliamentary champions, the government’s consultation could be a major new win for our campaign. Rooftop solar can help reduce the devastating impacts of climate collapse on our countryside, whilst protecting much-loved landscapes from industrial ground-mounted schemes.
How to respond
We are calling on all our supporters, and everyone who wants to help protect the countryside for future generations, to join us in responding to the government’s consultation. By supporting the proposals for mandatory rooftop solar on most new buildings, we can make significant progress in reaching net zero while protecting our countryside.
It takes just a couple of minutes to respond to the consultation, which you can do either via this survey link or via email. You’ll need to select answers to the questions which can be found in Annex B, and questions 7-11 cover rooftop solar. To support our campaign for rooftop solar as standard on new buildings, select ‘Option 1’ for questions 7, 9 and 10.
