A growing number of local councils across England are teaming up with the Solar Together scheme to offer residents steep discounts on solar panels and battery storage through collective purchasing.
Instead of shopping around alone, homeowners can register and benefit from the bargaining power of their community, potentially cutting costs by 10–25 % or more.
Below, we explain what Solar Together is, list the councils already participating, and show how households can gain.
What is Solar Together?
Solar Together is a nationwide group-buying initiative run in partnership with local authorities and delivered by energy specialists iChoosr.
Instead of homeowners negotiating alone, large groups register their interest together. Approved installers then compete in a reverse auction to offer the best price for supply and installation.
Once the auction closes, every registered household receives an offer based on their roof type, energy usage, and system size.
The scheme’s organisers oversee installer vetting and quality control, requiring MCS accreditation and RECC or HIES membership.
The process aims to remove the hassle from going solar, reduce costs, and help councils meet their net-zero goals. In previous rounds, Solar Together participants have reported average savings of between 10 % and 25 % compared to typical market quotes.
Which councils offer Solar Together?
The number of participating councils is growing rapidly. Current and recent partners include:
- Surrey County Council
- Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead
- Wiltshire Council
- Swindon Borough Council
- Kent County Council
- Medway Council
- Lincolnshire County Council
- Hertfordshire County Council
- Dacorum Borough Council
- East Herts Council
- Bristol City Council
- Essex County Council
- Wokingham Borough Council
- North East Lincolnshire Council
- Suffolk County Council
- Cambridgeshire County Council
- Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
If your local authority isn’t on the list, keep checking as new councils are joining every few months as the scheme expands nationwide.
How can people benefit from Solar Together?
Homeowners can benefit from Solar Together in several ways. By joining a collective purchasing scheme, they gain access to pricing that would usually only be available to large developers.
The reverse auction model means that installers compete to offer the lowest possible solar panel costs, helping participants make significant savings compared with sourcing quotes individually.
The process is designed to be easy from start to finish. Residents register online in just a few minutes, receive a no-obligation offer, and, if they choose to proceed, have a qualified installer handle the entire process from survey to connection. For many, it’s the simplest way to transition to renewable energy without navigating the complexity of comparing multiple suppliers.
There are some considerations: the upfront cost remains an investment, and while Solar Together’s vetting process is rigorous, each household still signs its own contract with the installer, not the council. Homeowners should check warranty details, component specifications, and support options carefully before signing.
Despite those caveats, thousands of residents across the UK have already used Solar Together to power their homes with clean, renewable energy, and with more councils joining the scheme every year, even more households are set to benefit soon.
View the original article and our Inspiration here
Leave a Reply