St Helens Council working on 'Solar Together' to make energy cheaper across Liverpool City Region

Alongside other partners in the Liverpool City Region (LCR) Combined Authority, the council is backing a "group-buying" scheme to make renewable energy cheaper across the region.

Named 'Solar Together', the project has been launched by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram to assist homeowners and businesses during the soaring cost of living crisis.

The scheme will enable residents across the city region to buy cheaper solar panels and battery storage, while also helping to reduce their carbon emissions.

There is also an option to have electric vehicle charging points fitted.

LCR Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the LCR Combined Authority, said:

“Rising energy bills are piling an incredible amount of pressure on households across our region, with many families struggling to keep up with the spiralling cost of living. 

“In this day and age, everyone should be able to live in a safe, warm home that doesn’t break the bank to heat.

"We’re already investing almost £60m through our retrofitting programme to help put money into the pockets of thousands of our most disadvantaged households – and Solar Together is the next step in that journey, allowing us to help even more people in our community to cut down energy costs."

Created four years ago, Solar Together has set up more than 7,000 installations across the UK, saving more than 130,000 tonnes of lifetime carbon emissions.

Liverpool City Region can now join this scheme, which gives homeowners or businesses the confidence they are paying the right price for a high-quality installation.

It builds on work the Combined Authority has been doing to cut emissions across the region; fitting energy-saving features to thousands of homes.

Andy Burnham, David Baines and Steve Rotheram (Pic: Bernard Platt)

David Baines, St Helens Council Leader and Portfolio Holder for Climate Emergency and Renewable Energy at the LCR Combined Authority said:

“We know that many people are interested in installing solar panels both to cut their energy bills and to do their bit for the environment but may have been put off by finding a trustworthy contractor or just because the process seemed too complicated. 

"Solar Together aims to address those concerns and give residents a simpler way to make the leap. 

"We know that we will need to halve our total energy use as a city region to hit our target of being net zero carbon by 2040 or sooner and every house and business that can produce its own energy takes it that much closer to our target.”

Residents can register online to become part of the group for free and without obligation.

Auction bidding takes place with pre-approved solar panel providers later this month.

For more information, follow this link.