Ongoing frustration with national solar policy has allowed local authorities and regional government to take the lead in UK solar deployment, the Solar Trade Association (STA) has said in a new report.

The report, dubbed ‘Leading Lights: How local authorities are making solar and energy storage work today’, compiles more than 20 examples where local authorities (LAs) have deployed solar and/or battery storage to provide a range of benefits to local residents.

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This, the STA said, is evidence of how local councils are now “leading the way” on solar in order to save money and provide stable sources of revenue, which are in turn are used to fund services.

Some of the highlighted case studies within the report include a 7.4MW subsidy-free solar farm connected to a 4MW battery storage facility developed by West Sussex County Council and housing developments, like Plymouth City Council’s Bickleigh Down Eco Village, which use on-site solar to help alleviate fuel poverty.

Read more: SolarPowerPortal