8th July 2025
A trial scheme to make it more affordable for Oxfordshire residents to install solar panels and battery storage has hit the century mark.
Last month, Oxfordshire County Council, and its partners SMS and Metis carried out their hundredth installation as part of their Energy Saver App project, backed by government funding.
All the householders involved had registered their interest in the solar trial after downloading the energy saver app, which was launched a year ago.
Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Place, Environment and Climate Action, said: “These installations are now generating significant clean electricity for Oxfordshire.
“They are helping to provide flexibility, enabling our residents to benefit from cheaper tariffs. They have created savings of around £300 a year for the 100 households who have taken part.”
Through the scheme, householders pay £40 a month for the equipment, rather than having to pay thousands of pounds up front.
Barbara and John Hall, from Upper Tadmarton, near Banbury, were among the first residents to have solar panels and a battery installed under the trial in December.
Mrs Hall said: “This scheme is just brilliant because you're not having to pay out a big lump sum but you're getting all the benefits.”
The project is part of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s alternative energy markets innovation programme and backed by funding from the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP).
NZIP is a £1 billion fund for low carbon technologies and systems and aims to lower the costs of decarbonisation, helping enable the UK to end its contribution to climate change.
Tom Woolley, SMS and Metis’s Product and Strategy Director, said: “It’s been such a fantastic partnership and to hit 100 installations is a good point to reflect on the progress.
“There are over 100 more customers contracted and excited about their installations, so we are not slowing down. Together, with our partnership with Oxfordshire County Council, we’re making the energy transition as accessible as getting a mobile phone, and that’s something to be very proud of.”
People can still register their interest in the scheme through the energy saver app, which has so far been downloaded by 9,000 people. Even if they are not chosen for the trial, users can still expect to cut their gas and electricity consumption by at least eight per cent through the energy insights offered by the app.
As well as the solar trial, the council and its partners plan to trial air source heat pump installations for a select number of properties in the future.
