Labour is preparing to flood the UK with Chinese-made solar panels as it tries to deliver on its pledge to bring household energy bills down.
The Government’s Warm Homes Plan, announced today, will see millions of families able to access solar panels, batteries, heat pumps and insulation which could reduce the amount they pay for energy.
Under the plans, backed with £15billion of taxpayer cash, homeowners can apply for low and zero-interest loans to install solar panels on their homes in what the Government has dubbed a ‘rooftop revolution‘.
Loans for batteries, and £7,500 grants for heat pumps will also be made available.
Direct support will be given to low-income households to install solar panels or insulation for free as part of Government’s plans to lift one million people out of fuel poverty by 2030.
Landlords will also have to invest in upgrades to cut bills for renters and social tenants under new rules.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, repeatedly criticised for his ‘obsessive’ drive for Net-Zero, said: ‘It is a scandal that millions of people in our country do not have the security of a home that is warm, affordable and safe.
‘With this investment, we embark on a national project to turn the tide – waging war on fuel poverty and taking another step forward in tackling the affordability crisis for families throughout Britain.’
Under the plans, backed with £15billion of taxpayer cash, homeowners can apply for low and zero-interest loans to install solar panels on their homes in what the Government has dubbed a ‘rooftop revolution’
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: ‘It is a scandal that millions of people in our country do not have the security of a home that is warm, affordable and safe’ in bringing forward his Warm Homes Plan
The Prime Minister, meanwhile, said the plans marked a ‘turning point’, and showed the Government is ‘bearing down on the cost-of-living crisis’.
But concerns have been raised about fitting five million British homes with China-sourced technology.
There, Uighur Muslims are rounded up and forced to work for little or no pay – prompting Mr Miliband to halt GB Energy, Britain’s state-owned energy company, from using solar panels suspected to have been made by slave labour.
Engineers have also discovered ‘kill switches’ embedded in Chinese-manufactured parts on American solar farms, raising fears Beijing could destabilise power grids, damage energy infrastructure and trigger blackouts via solar farms in the UK.
This comes as Labour has given the green light to the controversial Chinese embassy in London – a decision critics have branded ‘naivety on stilts’ for potentially allowing China access to key communication cables in the City of London.
Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said the UK ‘must make sure that we take all possible steps to protect our energy and national security from foreign adversaries who wish us harm’
Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said: ‘Whether it’s for cables, batteries, or critical minerals, Labour’s rush towards Net Zero depends on Britain importing tonnes of kit from China.
‘The world is becoming increasingly dangerous, so we must make sure that we take all possible steps to protect our energy and national security from foreign adversaries who wish us harm.’
Tory MP Iain Duncan-Smith, currently sanctioned by China, said Mr Miliband must ‘purge’ any net-zero technologies that may have been made using slave labour.
Richard Tice, Reform UK’s deputy leader and energy spokesperson, said Labour’s Warm Homes Plan is a ‘scandalous waste’ of taxpayer money, and that primarily buying Chinese-made solar panels, batteries and heat pumps is ‘bad for British industry’.
The Warm Homes Plan, which the Government describes as the biggest public investment in home upgrades in British history, will see every new home delivered with solar panels by default.
The number of homes with solar panels on their rooftops will triple by 2030.
