‘Simply not true’: Council hits back at Green party over alleged solar panel blunder

Cllr Zoë Garbett at the Holly Street property. Photograph: Hackney Greens

Hackney’s mayor has refuted claims from the local Green party that solar panels for a council home were disconnected from the grid for 15 years.

This week, the Greens put out a press release alleging that residents in a council property on Holly Street had “finally got solar power for their building” after years of their panels bringing “zero benefit”.

The residents had approached Cllr Zoë Garbett, Green councillor for Dalston, at her drop-in surgery to complain that they had never been given a satisfactory answer about their solar power problems.

The Greens said a year-long campaign by Cllr Garbett had led to the panels “finally being connected to provide power to a communal area, and supply any surplus energy to the grid”.

The party’s release included a statement from one of the block’s residents, Marina Young, who said: “It was [Cllr Garbett’s] due diligence that has made Hackney Council do their own investigation.

“I am concerned about much money and energy could have saved if the panels had been wired up properly to start with.”

The Town Hall, however, has flatly denied the claims.

Mayor Caroline Woodley told the Citizen that ‘‘it is simply not true that the solar panels on homes in Holly Street were never connected to the grid”.

“They were connected once they were installed 15 years ago to help power communal lighting and lifts, as was the normal practice at the time the scheme was introduced.

“We are aware that there was a delay in replacing a component supporting the solar panels, meaning they became disconnected.

“However, they were back online eight months ago and we have not been made aware of an issue since then.”

Hackney Mayor Caroline Woodley. Photograph: Hackney Council

The Greens’ say Cllr Garbett discovered that the flat’s solar panels were feeding solely into lifts and stairwells—the landlord’s energy supply—”without direct benefit to the residents”.

The Mayor also rejected this idea, claiming that any power saving would have benefitted residents.

“Under the current scheme, any savings for the power generated through the solar panels for communal areas would have been passed back to residents through their service charges,” she said.

Other residents were approached for comment but declined to add any further detail.

In the press release, Cllr Garbett said: “A lot of residents will be dismayed that Hackney Council takes 15 years to connect a solar panel on a council property.

“It doesn’t help that Hackney Labour never explained the reason for the delay – after five years of questions from residents.

“No wonder that trust in the council has fallen from 73 per cent in 2018 to 67 per cent today —with social renters and Black residents most likely to respond negatively when asked if they trust the council.

“Residents want action. They want to see the council listening to them and treating them as experts in their own lives.”

Cllr Garbett has asked the council to commit to ensuring that solar panels on new developments are contractually guaranteed to cut energy costs for residents, in line with pledges made in February.

She said: “Technology has progressed since the solar panels were installed on the Holly Street estate.

“This means we can now look at piloting an innovative approach where the energy supplied benefits the residents’ homes directly, also helping save money on their energy bills.”

Mayor Woodley insisted that the council’s renewable energy efforts were cutting-edge.

“We are very proud of the work we are doing to future-proof Hackney’s energy supply,” she said.

“We are leaders in our approach to community energy, with over £1 million committed to delivering 39 projects through our Hackney Light & Power Community Energy initiative, currently in its third phase since launching in 2022.’’