With the publication of the 2026 edition of Part L of the Building Regulations, the UK Government gets much of the way towards the intentions of Policy HAS02 and Aspiration 3 of the Neighbourhood Plan.
Policy HAS02 included three parts: Energy Efficient Design & Heating; Community Power; and Efficient Use of Potable Water. Aspiration 3 was to create an “Energy Positive” Community.
With the 2026 Part L, new construction is required to include Air Source Heatpumps and on-site electricity generation including Solar PV. For Solar PV, the simplest description is that the Solar PV installed should have an output equivalent to 40% of the buildings footprint at 0.22kWp per sqm. (This gives the Developer the ability to use smaller, more efficient panels as they are created and to orientate the panels appropriately).
However, the Regulations do not require that excess energy generated by the on-site generation is stored (which in the case of Solar PV can treble the local use of the electricity generated) nor do they contribute towards the Community aspect of the Neighbourhood Plan. (The Building Regulations can only apply to individual buildings so it is reasonable to expect that the Community Aspect is not considered).
Other changes in Regulations (specifically Ofgem P441) aim to simplify local energy trading which could imply that excess energy generated on one building could be “sold” to another building within the community rather than being “exported to the grid”. The Chetwynd Energy Club was established by the Chetwynd Community Interest Company to see whether installing Solar PV on the existing homes in the area would be economically viable (and how to do it). The changes to the Building Regulations announced give a boost to that concept by potentailly delivering energy into the community based upon the new housing.