Hackney’s microgrid pilot revolutionises solar access for social housing

When Hackney Council set out in 2019 to decarbonise its housing stock, officials quickly confronted a regulatory obstacle that has long restricted the roll-out of rooftop solar in Britain’s apartment blocks: tenants were unable to buy electricity directly from generators on their estate. That barrier typically confined solar benefits to communal areas or landlords, rather than to the households that need bill relief most.

Hackney’s answer is a municipal microgrid pilot, developed with Emergent Energy, that rewires that relationship. According to Time, Emergent signed a contract with the borough at the end of 2024 to provide solar-generated electricity directly to residents on parts of the estate, and Hackney reports the scheme stretches across 27 blocks covering roughly 750 homes. Residents enrolled so far have seen electricity bills fall by about 15% compared with market rates, the council’s cabinet member for climate, environment and transport, Sarah Young, told Time.

The model replicates a configuration more familiar to industry: a localised distribution system that connects producers and consumers inside an estate, reducing reliance on retail suppliers and the national network for that slice of demand. “My motivation has always been around how you deploy these technologies as fast as possible,” Reg Platt, chief executive of Emergent Energy, said in Time, adding that he set up the company to give apartments and low‑income households access to solar without depending on central subsidy. Industry observers say the microgrid construct unlocks both economic and operational value by allowing on‑site generation to offset higher retail prices.

Council and industry data underline the scale and carbon payoff the pilot could deliver if replicated. Hackney and partner reporting indicate the project aims to produce about 1 megawatt of rooftop solar across the estate, with Local Government Association material estimating potential generation in excess of 800 MWh per year and annual CO₂ savings of roughly 200 tonnes. Hackney has set a borough target of six megawatts of solar on council housing by 2030, signalling intent to scale the pilot rapidly if performance and uptake continue.

The initiative also fits within wider policy activity. The national Warm Homes Plan, unveiled by the government in January, commits £15 billion to retrofit measures including insulation, heat pumps and solar, and ministers have announced further funding to support community clean‑energy projects on publicly used buildings. Emergent’s executives have suggested that such funding could accelerate expansion into social housing, bringing assets and part of energy provision under municipal or community control.

The project’s progress has drawn attention beyond local government. Emergent was among the recipients of an Ashden Award in 2025 for breaking barriers to renewables in low‑income communities, recognition of a business model that sells solar energy from building roofs to residents before the electricity enters the wider grid. Coverage in the Hackney Citizen and The Guardian reports installations of several thousand panels across three estates, with roughly 800 households eligible to join the scheme in its current footprint.

For professionals involved in industrial decarbonisation, Hackney’s pilot offers several practical takeaways. The municipal ownership of assets removes exposure to commercial landlord behaviour and can ensure that financial benefits flow to residents rather than third‑party suppliers, an important consideration where social equity is a policy objective. The model shows how technical integration, solar generation, metering and local supply contracts, can be combined with municipal finance to recover upfront capital; Hackney anticipates recouping its £2 million investment over time, according to Time.

At the same time, scaling microgrids in dense urban housing poses regulatory and operational challenges. Existing rules on supplier switching and network access required changes in approach to allow direct supply to flats; successful replication will depend on streamlined regulatory pathways, standardised contracting, and robust metering and billing systems. There are also system‑level implications to consider: large numbers of estate‑level generators interacting with local distribution networks raise questions about grid balancing, export management and the role of storage and demand‑side flexibility.

Hackney officials are already looking beyond bill savings. Young told Time the council may repurpose surplus generation into battery storage or electric vehicle charging infrastructure as the scheme grows, extending both decarbonisation and local system resilience. For municipalities and energy service companies, the pilot frames a route to deploy distributed generation that aligns climate objectives, social housing priorities and the economics of reduced retail exposure.

If municipalities across the UK can replicate the technical and contractual blueprint emerging in Hackney while navigating regulatory constraints, the result could be a rapid expansion of affordable, low‑carbon power in social housing, delivering emissions reductions and lowering energy costs for households that are often most vulnerable to price shocks. Industry practitioners will be watching whether municipal ownership, targeted public funding and enterprise models such as Emergent’s can combine effectively at scale to make that transition commercially viable and equitable.