PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(28 August 2026)

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will publish the analysis of costs and benefits that informed her Department's conclusion that the solar canopies on car parks policy would not be taken forward at this point.

Asked by:
Claire Young (Liberal Democrat)

The government currently has no plans to publish this analysis. Given high upfront costs coupled with the uncertainty about future electricity prices and self-consumption of electricity generated, there is a significant risk that businesses would be unable to recover installation costs over the assumed 30-year lifetime of solar panels. Mandating on new car parks also overlaps with the Future Buildings Standard which includes generation within the curtilage of the building.

Answered by:
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