Solar Panels and Battery Storage Scheme Launched

Folkestone & Hythe District Council has teamed up with Kent County Council for Solar Together Kent, a group-buying initiative for solar panels and battery storage.

Residents looking to save on energy bills and reduce their carbon emissions are being invited to take part in the innovative new scheme.

It is being rolled out in Kent following its success across the country in the past few years. This has seen 3,700 installations of high-quality solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and 61,000 tonnes of avoided lifetime carbon emissions.

It is free to register with Solar Together Kent, and there is no obligation to proceed to installation. Working with iChoosr, independent experts in group buying, homeowners will be helped through the process and kept informed.

How to take part

Anyone interested in the scheme should register before 15 March, providing details about their roof. The more people registered, the better the deal should be for each household.

On 15 March, Solar Together Kent’s approved installers will bid for the work in a reverse ‘auction’. The most competitive offer from these pre-vetted installers will win the auction.

From 4 April, applicants will be emailed a personal recommendation for their home, based on their registration details. This will include costs and specifications of their solar panels and battery storage system.

They can then decide whether to accept the recommendation. There is no obligation to continue and applicants have until 13 May to decide. Telephone and email support will be available throughout the process, which, together with information sessions, will allow households to make an informed decision.

If an applicant decides to go ahead, the winning installer will carry out a roof survey and set an installation date. All installations are planned to be completed by the end of October 2022.

Anyone who already has solar panels installed can register to have battery storage added.

Reducing carbon emissions

Cllr Lesley Whybrow, Cabinet Member for the Environment, said:

“Reducing carbon emissions is a priority for Folkestone & Hythe District Council: as well as being committed to reduce our own carbon emission to net zero by 2030, we want to help the local community do the same.

“Solar Together Kent will go some way in trying to achieve this. It should make the switch to clean energy as cost effective and hassle-free as possible. I hope that many homeowners will take part in this community-led initiative.”

For detailed information about likely costs and the amount of energy that is expected to be generated and to register, go to https://solartogether.co.uk/folkestone-and-hythe/home

iChoosr was founded in 2008 and is privately owned by two co-founders. Before it entered the UK energy market in 2012, it focused on group-buying schemes in the Netherlands and Belgium. They now work with community leaders helping households select energy and solar power suppliers.

Press release 8/2/2022 from Folkestone and Hythe District Council, republished by Sandgate Parish Council.