The Cut: Plug-in solar arrives just in time for new price cap

• Plug-in solar panels are now completely legal in the UK
• Households can now cut £110 off their bills
• Anker SOLIX puts new battery system on pre-sale

Happy plug-in solar day to all those who celebrate! We mean it, because at the time of writing (it’s the 27th August), plug-in solar panels are now fully legal and, hopefully soon, fully available in the UK and, fingers crossed, on supermarket shelves.

If you’re a reader of The Cut, or just a visitor to The Eco Experts in general, you’ll know that we’re huge fans of plug-in solar and think it could be transformative for households and billpayers. 

It could save £110 a year as a starting point, and based on the conversations we’re having with industry experts, we believe that figure could triple. We also think that from now until the end of the year we could see a flurry of exciting changes in the clean energy world, including the rolling out of the Warm Homes Plan. 

The truth is that the change in the law that allows plug-in solar couldn’t come at a better time. On Wednesday this week Ofgem announced that the energy price cap will increase again on 1st October to £1,723, the highest it’s been for three years. 

Why has the energy price cap gone up? You won’t be surprised to hear that it’s once again the wholesale price of gas, which thanks to Donald Trump’s continued war with Iran remains high. 

This makes tools such as plug-in solar particularly important, and along with government grants, flexible tariffs and batteries, among much else, households now have another tool in their efforts to beat the energy price cap. 

All we need now is the government to look into adding plug-in batteries to the mix, which will make the case even stronger and the benefits even more accessible. 

Anker SOLIX unveils Solarbank 4 Pro

Anker SOLIX, the world’s number one plug and play battery storage company has put the Solarbank 4 Pro on pre-sale in the UK. It will cost £1,299 during the pre-sale and could be a transformative piece of kit for households looking to cut their bills.

Flats are a huge opportunity for the solar industry

Can solar panels be put on flats? Yes, and they are actually a huge opportunity for the industry. Here’s why.

Energy price cap to rise by 4%

We knew it was coming, but we now know that bills are going to get more expensive on 1st October after Ofgem announced the cap was increasing to £1,723.

Written By

Maximilian Schwerdtfeger Deputy editor

Max joined The Eco Experts as content manager in February 2024 and became deputy editor in 2025. He has written about sustainability issues across numerous industries, including maritime, supply chain, finance, mining, and retail. He has also written extensively for consumer titles like City AM, The Morning Star, and The Daily Express.

He has represented The Eco Experts on national television several times, including the BBC’s Sunday Morning Live and ITV Tonight .

In 2020, he covered in detail the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) legislation on sulphur emissions and its effects on the global container shipping market as online editor of Port Technology International.

He also explored the initiatives major container ports and terminals have launched in order to ship vital goods across the world without polluting the environment.

Since then, he has reported heavily on the impact made by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices on the supply chain of minerals, with a particular focus on rare earth mining in Africa.

As part of this, in 2022 Max visited mines and ports in Angola to hone in on the challenges being faced by one of the world’s biggest producers of rare earth minerals.

His most recent sustainability-related work came much closer to home, as he investigated the eco-challenges faced by independent retailers in the UK, specifically looking at how they can cut emissions and continue to thrive.

Max lives in South London and is an avid reader of books on modern history. He has also recently learned to play the game Mahjong and takes every opportunity to do so. He is also yet to find a sport he doesn’t enjoy watching.

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