Solar panels to be installed on houses in Hackney. Pic: Pxhere

A publicly-owned solar energy company will be created by Hackney Council to promote clean energy for households in the borough.

The project fulfills the pledge made by Mayor Phillip Glanville in March to create such a body if he was re-elected.  

The Energy Company Delivery Board will plan how to place solar panels on up to 50 per cent of council owned residential roof space in Hackney.

Hackney has estimated that 9,700 households in the borough suffer from fuel poverty. The new energy company will aim to assist vulnerable residents.  

Councillor Jon Burke, Cabinet Member for Energy, Sustainability, & Community Services said: “in the face of limited, and often retrograde, central Government action, Hackney is joining a movement across local government that is helping to transform the energy system from one underpinned by fossil fuels, to one characterised by clean and extremely low carbon sources of energy.” 

“It is our aim to protect residents and the environment we live in. By ensuring there is another publicly-owned, publicly-accountable energy company in the marketplace, we believe we can achieve these goals while placing reputational pressure on the dominant players of the energy world, driving change more broadly.”