The dark side of Labour’s solar energy crusade

Stroll down the average residential street and you’re likely to see at least one or two houses with solar panels gleaming darkly on their roofs. Some 1.5 million UK homes now have them installed, according to government data, and the number is growing.

As we move away from fossil fuels, as part of the Government’s net zero initiatives, solar is likely to play a key part in the transition. Under plans to be published this autumn, almost all new homes will be fitted with solar power, unleashing what Ed Miliband has called a “rooftop revolution”.

One that could save householders hundreds of pounds off their energy bills, we are promised.

“So many people just don’t understand why this doesn’t already happen,” the Energy Secretary said last month when announcing the proposed changes.

Yet uncomfortable questions hang over almost every stage of the process of switching to solar, which currently receive relatively little attention.