Lightsource, a leading UK owner and operator of solar energy installations, has made a revolutionary move into social housing. Lightsource is joining the Sustainable Homes Index For Tomorrow (SHIFT), the UK’s sustainability benchmarking service for landlords.
The new partnership is particularly important, as Lightsource is focussed on helping social housing providers understand the new opportunities and fully-funded solutions available in renewable energy, following years of uncertainty created by changes to the feed in tariffs offered to solar installations.
Nick Boyle (pictured), CEO at Lightsource, explained: “We are excited to bring our expertise and support to the social housing sector. High bills put many families under undue pressure and we intend to make that a thing of the past.
“Previous changes to feed in tariff rates have created uncertainty in the market. There is now an opportunity for landlords to take decisive steps to future-proof their tenants’ electricity costs. We want to help associations understand and take advantage of this opportunity to take pressure off their residents, address fuel poverty and create more sustainable living through localised electricity generation.”
SHIFT is a sustainability benchmarking group for affordable housing providers, representing one million homes. The group, which was developed with the support of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), the Mayor of London and the WWF-UK, has a particularly strong focus on improving the energy efficiency of existing homes. Sustainable Homes is the secretariat of SHIFT.
Andrew Eagles, Managing Director of Sustainable Homes, also welcomed the partnership. He said: “This partnership is timely. Over 2.3m households are in fuel poverty. The Climate Change Act 2010 calls for 34% less carbon by 2020. Many landlords are considering how they can best meet these dual challenges and improve their homes with minimal risks. It is great to have Lightsource as a partner.”
Nick added: “We are delighted to be working alongside SHIFT and believe that this partnership will serve as a valuable tool to unlocking the as yet untapped potential of rooftop solar installations, whilst helping to tackle the serious issue of fuel poverty in the UK.”
