Peterborough has the most houses with solar panels on the roof of any city or town in the UK, a study has revealed.
The Cambridgeshire city has more than 9,000 solar panel installations, enough to equip 11.1 per cent of the local authority’s 82,000 households.
Analysis of 371 local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales also saw that London has very few solar panels compared to the number of households.
Nineteen of the 20 worst local authorities for solar panels per household are in London.
Kensington and Chelsea has the lowest percentage of households with solar panels in the country, at a lowly 0.16 per cent.
Of the purported 5,245 households in the City of London district, only 15 households are fitted with solar panels.
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Analysis of 371 local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales also saw that London has very few solar panels compared to the amount of households. Behind Peterborough, the Scottish city of Stirling and the Welsh town of Wrexham make up the top three, with 10.1 and 7.3 per cent respectively
Eco-developer Project Etopia collated and analysed the data on number of solar panels across the UK.
It cross-referenced the number of solar panel installations with the reported number of households in each local authority across Britain.
According to the research, just 2.96 per cent of households across the British nations have solar panels, on average.
Lincoln, Canterbury and Dover all sit around the national average.
Behind Peterborough, the Scottish city of Stirling and the Welsh town of Wrexham make up the top three, with 10.1 and 7.3 per cent respectively.
The top ten is rounded out by Boston, Sunderland, Colchester, Taunton, Stroud, Doncaster and Plymouth.
Eco-developer Project Etopia analysed the amount of solar panels across the UK and collated the data. The firm works on buildiong eco-friendly homes (pictured, a concept home built by the company)
Pictured, the first completed eco-friendly home built by Project Etopia in Corby. Research from the Northamptonshire-based company shows the only local authority to breach the London monopoly on the entire bottom 20 is the highly isolated Shetland Islands, which comes in at 19th worst
According to the research, just 2.96 per cent of households across the British nations have solar panels, on average. Lincoln, Canterbury and Dover all sit around the national average (stock photo)
Town/City | No. of Households | Total Solar Installations | % of Households with Solar |
---|---|---|---|
Peterborough | 81,901 | 9,088 | 11.10% |
Stirling | 40,157 | 4,051 | 10.10% |
Wrexham | 60,341 | 4,432 | 7.30% |
Boston | 29,355 | 2,153 | 7.30% |
Sunderland | 124,438 | 8,802 | 7.10% |
Colchester | 79,540 | 5,548 | 7.00% |
Taunton | 67,198 | 3,791 | 5.60% |
Stroud | 51,756 | 2,858 | 5.50% |
Doncaster | 131,355 | 7,049 | 5.40% |
Plymouth | 115,264 | 6,172 | 5.40% |
Selby | 37,379 | 1,965 | 5.30% |
Stoke-on-Trent | 110,839 | 5,753 | 5.20% |
Lewes | 46,060 | 2,321 | 5.00% |
Rotherham | 112,641 | 5,326 | 4.70% |
Barnsley | 108,604 | 5,081 | 4.70% |
Nottingham | 134,723 | 6,194 | 4.60% |
Bolsover | 34,647 | 1,563 | 4.50% |
Chesterfield | 48,680 | 2,166 | 4.40% |
King’s Lynn | 66,396 | 2,948 | 4.40% |
Maldon | 27,563 | 1,215 | 4.40% |
At the other end of the spectrum, the bottom ten were all London boroughs.
As well as Kensington and Chelsea, Tower Hamlets, Hammersmith and Fulham and Westminster all record a lowly figure below 0.3 per cent.
The only local authority to breach the London monopoly on the entire bottom 20 is the highly isolated Shetland Islands, which comes in at 19th worst.
Joseph Daniels, CEO of Project Etopia, said: ‘Britain has never been greener and these towns and cities are trailblazers who we should all look to for inspiration.
‘However, in the best performing town, Peterborough, more than 88 per cent of households still lack solar, so there is plenty more to be done.
‘Policymakers and suppliers need to examine why so many areas have particularly weak levels of solar installations while others sprint way ahead.
‘The UK might not be the sunniest place on Earth, but the technology has improved enough over the past 20 years for it to be worthwhile anywhere in the country.’
The UK is using more and more renewable sources of electricity and increasingly moving away from fossil fuels.
Last month, the UK broke the record for how long the nation went without producing a single watt of energy from coal.
At 6:10am BST on April 28, the country surpassed its previous record of 18 days, 6 hours and 10 minutes.
Installing solar panels is better for the environment and also saves the consumer money.
Mr Daniels told MailOnline: ‘A typical 4killowatt peak system can help people save as much as £260 a year off their energy bill.
‘This amount can vary around the country depending on the number of daylight hours, whether the roof is in shade for part of the day, and what way the roof faces.
‘A south facing roof is ideal, but roofs facing south-west can still provide a benefit.
‘Generating electricity with solar panels instead of fossil fuels reduces greenhouse gas emissions, particularly CO2.
‘A typical home solar photovoltaic system could save around 1.3 to 1.6 tonnes of carbon per year.’
A spokesperson for eterborough City Council told MailOnline: ‘We are fully committed to promoting and developing renewable energy initiatives, so are proud to hear that Peterborough is topping the league for home solar panels.
‘The council previously ran a solar panel installation scheme which provides energy for thousands of homes.
‘Peterborough has been leading the way on environmental matters for some time – a recent report found that the city had a higher proportion of electric cars on its roads than any other city in the UK.
‘To cater for increasing electric vehicles, we are working to install charging points across the city.
‘Last year the council declared a climate emergency and agreed to make all our activities carbon neutral by 2030. The motion also commits the council to achieving 100 per cent clean energy across its buildings and services by 2030.’
Local Authority | No. of Households | Total Solar Installations | % of Households with Solar |
---|---|---|---|
Kensington and Chelsea | 79,930 | 127 | 0.20% |
Tower Hamlets | 136,292 | 219 | 0.20% |
Westminster | 125,675 | 226 | 0.20% |
Hammersmith and Fulham | 84,945 | 188 | 0.20% |
Camden | 115,730 | 311 | 0.30% |
Southwark | 140,742 | 397 | 0.30% |
City of London | 5,245 | 15 | 0.30% |
Hackney | 122,890 | 389 | 0.30% |
Islington | 112,123 | 358 | 0.30% |
Newham | 128,235 | 426 | 0.30% |
Lambeth | 149,719 | 500 | 0.30% |
Wandsworth | 141,725 | 512 | 0.40% |
Haringey | 121,366 | 555 | 0.50% |
Brent | 128,286 | 643 | 0.50% |
Lewisham | 136,445 | 710 | 0.50% |
Greenwich | 120,178 | 641 | 0.50% |
Enfield | 138,141 | 750 | 0.50% |
Barnet | 160,518 | 933 | 0.60% |
Shetland Islands | 10,475 | 61 | 0.60% |
Hounslow | 112,173 | 747 | 0.70% |