Commenting on the Government’s plan to fit solar panels on all new-build homes, Andy Mayer, Energy Analyst at the free market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:

“The person most relevant to deciding what should go on a new home is the person buying it, not a Minister in the grip of an ideological crusade.

“If the Government’s claims about savings of £1,000 per household a year were credible, there would be no need for a mandate.

“Clearly, they are not. Average electricity bills for a typical household are £881, while industry experts consider the payback period for rooftop solar to be between 10-20 years not 3.

“Many properties entirely unsuited to benefit, given their orientation, proximity to tree cover, or latitude.

“Nor will this matter much to carbon targets. The UK typically adds 0.5% to the housing stock each year, a number that will fall if homes are made more expensive to build.

“The timing of this announcement in a week where 60 million Europeans experienced a catastrophic blackout event due to over-supply of solar on the Spanish grid shows extraordinary contempt.”