Energy & Climate
Powering a green transition
P.E.A. Awards sponsor Duracell Energy is helping bill payers shift to battery-powered homes.
30 March 2026
The government is rolling out ‘plug-in’ solar panels – low-cost panels that families can put on their balconies or outdoor space – which it says will be available in shops within months. The goal is to save people money by reducing energy bills.
Retailers like Lidl and Iceland, alongside manufacturers such as EcoFlow, are working with the government to ensure their solar panels can be brought to the UK market.
Plug-in solar is already widely used by households across Europe; in Germany alone around half a million new devices are plugged in each year.
The free solar power can be used directly through a mains socket, like any other device. The technology is easy to use and costs nothing to install.
Once plugged in, the solar panels reduce the amount of electricity the household draws from the grid, cutting energy bills while helping the UK become less reliant on global fossil fuel markets.
‘At Lidl GB, we are committed to making sustainable living affordable for everyone and we welcome the government’s move to modernise regulations in the UK. Updating the regulatory landscape for this ‘plug-and-play’ technology is a positive step towards empowering British households to manage their energy costs and support the nation’s net-zero ambitions.’
GEORGINA HALL
Director of Corporate Affairs at Lidl GB
At the same time new rules are coming into force to implement the Future Homes Standard, which includes common-sense measures to ensure the majority of new homes are cheaper to run by design, with solar panels and clean heating as standard.
These measures on new homes could save families up to £830 a year on their energy bills, compared with a standard home with an EPC rating of C. This will ensure they are more comfortable and affordable – and create at least 75% lower carbon emissions than those built to the 2013 standards.
‘Building 1.5 million new homes also means building high-quality homes that are cheaper to run and warmer to live in.
‘As we make the switch to clean, homegrown energy, today’s standard is what the future of housing can and should look like. Not only will these changes protect hardworking families from shocks abroad but will also slash hundreds of pounds off their energy bills every year.’
STEVE REED
Housing Secretary
The government has vowed to go ‘further and faster’ on clean energy in response to conflict in the Middle East.
It says the current conflict is yet another reminder that the only route to energy security and sovereignty for the UK is to end dependence on fossil fuel markets and accelerate the drive for clean, homegrown power, as well as new renewables and nuclear.
In response to the conflict, the government has already taken steps to speed up the move to clean energy. Its annual renewables auction has been brought forward to July. The most recent auction was the biggest ever; alongside the previous auction, enough clean energy to power 23 million homes has been confirmed.
‘The government is determined to fight people’s corner in this crisis, which is why we have acted to prevent unfair practices like price gouging and provided immediate help for the most vulnerable facing spiralling heating oil prices.
‘The Iran War has once again shown our drive for clean power is essential for our energy security so we can escape the grip of fossil fuel markets we don’t control.
‘Whether through solar panels fitted as standard on new homes or making it possible for people to purchase plug-in solar in shops, we are determined to roll out clean power so we can give our country energy sovereignty.’
ED MILIBAND
Energy Secretary
At the moment, wind farms are often paid to switch off on windy days; historic underinvestment in the grid to match supply with demand across the country means the system can’t use all the power that’s being generated.
To tackle these so-called ‘constraint payments’, the government is launching a new trial that would make using the generated power a more cost-effective option than turning turbines off.
This will enable suppliers and flexibility service providers to offer households and businesses in areas with constrained renewable generation discounted power during these periods, so that more of the extra electricity can be used rather than wasted. It will predominantly apply to areas in Scotland and the East of England.
The news comes ahead of a cut to energy bills next week, with a £117 reduction coming into effect on 01 April and in place until the end of June.
‘People want to be free of these fossil fuel crises – since the conflict in the Middle East began, interest in solar has shot up 50%, heat pump and electric cars are also seeing surges.
‘Every solar panel, heat pump and battery cuts bills and boosts Britain’s energy independence. And the government’s latest steps can help cut the costs of electrification.
‘With solar, many homes can produce and use their own electricity, and cut their bills further by selling the excess back to us. With heat pumps and electric cars, their own electricity can slash heating and driving bills – stuff you simply can’t do with gas and petrol.
‘And it’s great that the government want to give homes and businesses cheap electricity on windy days instead of paying wind farms to switch off. Once this is permanent, companies and families will be able to invest confidently in electric vehicles, batteries and heat pumps – knowing they’ll be cheap to run.’
GREG JACKSON
Founder and CEO of Octopus Energy
P.E.A. Awards sponsor Duracell Energy is helping bill payers shift to battery-powered homes.
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