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Neighbours in an area of east London are hoping to pool resources to install solar panels on as many homes as possible, with 130 streets already showing an interest
As the Iran war drives up oil and gas prices, causing the UK to experience its second energy crisis in less than five years, an increasing number of households are looking to solar as a solution.
Renewable energy firms are reporting a surge in interest and data released last week shows 27,000 solar installs were completed in March, the highest monthly total in over a decade.
But one factor stands in the way of Britain embracing a solar revolution: the prohibitive up-front cost that prices out the majority of households.
HEALTH
Scientists have developed an at-home test which can predict a person’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study led by the University of Exeter.
It involves a finger-prick blood test and an online brain assessment to help identify people at the highest risk.
Finger-prick blood tests look for biomarkers, p-tau217 and GFAP, which have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
Scientists look at the blood test alongside computerised cognitive testing to identify risk.
The test results can be used to prioritise high-risk people for further testing and treatment.
Finger prick blood tests could revolutionise dementia diagnosis – they offer a low cost, scalable way to identify people who may be at higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease and who should be offered further checks.
MONEY
The Bank of England (BoE) kept interest rates on hold last week, but some experts predict rises later in 2026, which could mean mortgage deals increase yet again.
Here are all the potential interest rises later this year, and what they could mean for your finances.
Rising inflation
The BoE increases rates as inflation climbs above its 2 per cent target. It is currently 3.3 per cent and set to rise to 3.75 per cent.
Iran war
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is expected to rise due to the Middle East conflict pushing up oil prices which trickles down to goods and services.
Explained
5 min read
Last week, the BoE published three scenarios for the Middle East conflict – all of which saw inflation rising.
Some forecasters are predicting that the base rate could rise twice this year, taking it to 4.25 per cent.
What happens to your mortgage depends on which product you have and a range of external factors.
MONEY
3 min read
TRAVEL
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary says serving alcohol before morning flights should be banned to tackle bad passenger behaviour.
With the problem getting worse, could this spell the end of a pre-flight pint?
O’Leary said Ryanair is now having to divert one aircraft a day because of passengers behaving badly. Ten years ago, this was just one diversion a week.
He said the mix of alcohol and drugs means the problem is getting worse, with passengers becoming aggressive and “hyper” rather than just falling asleep.
I fail to understand why anybody in airport bars is serving people at five or six o’clock in the morning…Who needs to be drinking beer at that time?
Routes from Britain to Ibiza, Alicante and Tenerife have posed a particular problem, but flights from Ireland and Poland also experience disruption.
It is a criminal offence to be drunk on board an aircraft, with those convicted facing large fines and up to two years in prison.
If a flight is diverted, the offending passenger can face airline bans, large compensation fees and prosecution in the country where the aircraft lands.
TRAVEL
3 min read
Pornhub’s parent company Aylo said Apple users who had confirmed their age with the company’s updated iOS would
be allowed back on the site.
LIFESTYLE
4 min read
Major platforms have been affected by the landmark Online Safety Act, with Pornhub seeing a 75 per cent drop in UK users since the introduction of more robust age checks.
However, critics have questioned whether people are simply using VPNs instead, allowing them to evade age checks by masking their IP addresses.
POLITICS
3 min read
ROYAL
The Princess of Wales is set to make her first official foreign visit since being diagnosed with cancer.
Kate, who revealed she was in remission last year, will travel to Italy next week on a trip with The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.
Kate’s trip to Italy will be the first official overseas engagement in nearly three-and-a-half years. Her last visit was in December 2022, when she went to Boston, USA, with Prince William for his Earthshot Prize award ceremony.
She has been on unofficial trips to Marseille, France, for the Rugby World Cup in autumn 2023 and to the Crown Prince of Jordan’s wedding in Amman in June 2023.
The princess will visit the city of Reggio Emilia in northern Italy for two days from 13-14 May to focus on early years child development.
A Kensington Palace spokesperson said Kate is “very much” looking forward to the trip, where she will learn about the Reggio Emilia Approach, an educational philosophy which focuses on children’s self-development.
Kate was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer following abdominal surgery in January 2024, sparking widespread speculation.
WORLD
Donald Trump said his operation to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz will be paused “for a short period of time” due to “great progress” towards a deal with Iran.
Here is all you need to know about “Project Freedom” and what it means for tense relations between Iran and the US.
Trump announced Project Freedom on Sunday, saying it was a “humanitarian gesture” to help seafarers stuck in the Gulf.
The plan launched on Monday, with US Central Command (Centcom) saying it was “essential” to regional security and the global economy.
Iran responded saying it would attack US forces if they entered the strait.
LIVE
1 min read
LIVE
1 min read
On Friday, Trump said he was “not satisfied” with Iran’s latest peace proposal. Trump has repeatedly called for Iran’s nuclear programme to end, while Tehran has demanded the release of frozen assets. On Tuesday, he said “great progress” has been made on a deal, but it remains to be seen what that looks like.
Analysis
4 min read
Iran’s attempts to incite antisemitism in the UK “will not
be tolerated”, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said.
Here are the main points from
the Downing Street summit.
The measures to protect the Jewish community come after the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green and a series of attacks at synagogues and other sites in recent months.
Starmer has faced criticism that he has not done enough to keep the community safe, and was heckled during a visit to the north London suburb on Thursday.
NEWS
7 min read
One of the lines of inquiry is whether a foreign state has been behind some of these incidents…Our message to Iran, or to any other country that might seek to foment violence, hatred or division in society, is that it will not be tolerated.
NEWS
Co-op has been secretly marking frequently shoplifted groceries with a special forensic spray to tackle the resale of stolen goods.
Here’s how the invisible spray works, and how the company hopes it will make shoplifting less profitable.
Co-op has been marking items with an invisible spray that contains a unique forensic code linked to the shop where it was originally sold, according to Retail Gazette.
Co-op has invested £250m in store security, including body-worn cameras for staff, reinforced kiosks for items such as spirits and tobacco, and shelf fixtures designed to stop thieves sweeping products into bags.
Where?
The scheme has been trialled in Manchester and London and will be rolled out across the UK.
Which items?
High-risk items such as alcohol, laundry detergent and confectionary have been sprayed.
Why?
The aim is to help Co-op and the police identify where stolen products are being resold, making theft less profitable.
NEWS
2 min read
One east London community believes it has the answer; community solar projects that use the power of collective bargaining and financing to lower costs and share the benefits of renewable energy.
What started as a single-street fundraising project is now expanding across Walthamstow, with over 130 streets signing up to lower their bills by becoming part of a community ‘power station’.
The Walthamstow Power Station project was born during lockdown, when artists Dan Edelstyn and Hilary Powell set out to answer a basic question.
“If we’re in a climate crisis, why isn’t renewable energy being put everywhere? We have the technology available to have clean, renewable energy. Why is it not being deployed on every viable building?” Edelstyn explained.
The couple slept on their roof for 23 nights to raise money for solar for themselves and their neighbours, creating a documentary in the process.
They raised over £150,000, which paid for solar panels on 16 homes and five local schools.
Edelstyn said the homes have cut their bills by roughly a third and reduced their dependency on fossil fuels.
“Beyond that there is the civic advantage of growing a community of people that want to participate together in something. That feels important at a time where a lot of people are divided,” he said.
Following the success on their own street, Edelstyn and Powell are now looking to expand the Power Station project across Walthamstow. To do this, they must find a finance model that is more sustainable that crowdfunding.
“Basically that seems to be the area where the most innovation needs to happen, about how it’s financed. The technology of solar definitely works and it’s cheaper than it’s ever been. Getting over the financial hurdles is the biggest problem that we all have,” Edelstyn said.
The project has teamed up with community energy company People Owned Power (POP) Energy to develop a co-op that local people will be able to invest in, which will install solar on people’s homes at no up-front cost.
Households who want solar will pay a fixed subscription fee to the co-op to pay off the solar panels over a set period of time, most likely 15 years. The aim is that this subscription fee will be less than the money households are saving on their bills.
Solar subscriptions schemes are not entirely new and have previously encountered hurdles, including higher long-term costs and difficulties with selling their homes.
Howard Johns, CEO of POP Energy, said households can either pass the subscription onto their buyer when they sell or will have to pay the panels off. However, he believes the uplift in value of having solar on your property would be enough to offset the cost.
“We’re just trying to make it as equitable as possible really by doing it as a co-operative,” he said.
The Power Station project has caught the attention of Walthamstow’s MP, Stella Creasy, who has held a series of meetings to encourage streets to take the plunge on solar panels together.
The most recent meeting took place last week and was attended by over 250 residents, as well as the Energy Secretary, Ed Milliband.
“My constituents know exactly how much money they don’t have to pay for the basics,” Creasy said. “It’s a big outlay to get that return so the more we can do using our collective bargaining power to reduce that cost, the more inclusive it can be.”
Over 130 streets have expressed interest in working together to install solar on their streets and Creasy is encouraging them to pursue a number of routes, including the co-op being established by Pop Energy.
Another more straightforward option for residents who are able to shoulder some of the upfront cost, is bulk-buying solar as a street in exchange for a discount.
Walthamstow resident Charlie Dearman is among those who have done this successfully with his neighbours. Eight households on his street negotiated a 30 per cent discount from a company called Everyone Energy by agreeing to have solar installed at the same time.
Dearman paid £4,000 for his solar, which he estimates he will have made back between bill savings and selling excess energy to the grid within five years. He paid an additional £3,000 for a battery, which he estimates will be paid off in seven years.
Creasy and her team are also exploring whether they can obtain money from the Government for community solar projects in Walthamstow.
Great British Energy, the Government-owned energy company, is providing up to £1bn for community-owned energy projects by 2030.
It’s not clear how much of this money will be available for projects like those springing up across Walthamstow, but Miliband encouraged residents to apply.
There are still various challenges in place that discourage the widespread take-up of community energy projects.
More innovative ideas, such as trading the solar your panels generate with neighbours still face regulatory hurdles and many households still face practical barriers, such as gaining permission from landlords and freeholders.
But Johns believes what’s happening in Walthamstow is “the future of energy”.
“It is going to be generated locally. It is going to be across millions of roofs,” he said.
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