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NFB welcomes Sunshine Bill failure



The National Federation of Builders (NFB) has applauded the government for rejecting a bill that would mandate solar panel installation for new homes.


The New Homes (Solar Generation) Bill, also known as the ‘Sunshine Bill’, was a private members bill brought forward by Max Wilkinson, Liberal Democrat MP for Cheltenham.

If successful, this would have mandated the installation for solar panel installation from October 2026.

Representing the government, minister for planning Matthew Pennycook applauded the intention behind the bill but stated the government was seeking other ways to boost solar energy.

“The government are extremely sympathetic to the intention behind the Bill, namely to significantly boost the deployment of rooftop solar,” said Pennycook.

“However, we cannot support the Bill today. That is because the government already intend to amend building regulations later this year as part of the introduction of future standards that will set more ambitious energy efficiency and carbon emissions requirements for new homes.”

The minister also highlighted the costs to local authorities around delivery and enforcement of this bill, as well as the skills challenge an October 2026 implementation would enhance.

Commenting on this, NFB head of policy and market insight Rico Wojtulewicz said the minister had “correctly identified” the challenges such a law could raise, particularly for smaller builders.

“What wasn’t much discussed was the grid and this is perhaps the most important factor because it’s already difficult enough to get DNO’s to provide connections and infrastructure for heat pumps, let alone the works to feed electricity back to the grid. Who is going to buy a home without electricity, or with a temporary supply?” asked Rico.

“If we want solar on all buildings, we must ensure we can practicably achieve it. We therefore need an ‘Enabling the Sunshine Bill, Bill’ well before we mandate solar on all new builds through local or national regulations.”



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