The Cut: You can watch the World Cup for free with solar

• Solar energy can help you watch the football for £0
• Billpayers immediate drop in energy costs with solar panel loans
• SolShare 2 has already saved some people £690

We’re midway through a year that has proven how important clean energy is for our bills, as well as how vulnerable we are without solar and electrification. As I write this, the fragile peace between the US and Iran is over, and we’re once again faced with ballooning gas prices. 

Last week we spoke about how Andy Burnham will have to go big on clean energy (assuming he becomes prime minister and there’s no late surprise worthy of a World Cup knockout game). Today we feel we have to double down on that call. Let us say it again: only solar and wind energy storage will protect us from the chaos caused by Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s wars. 

Speaking of the World Cup, we have some nice news. You may remember us writing before it started that this was set to be the most polluting World Cup ever.

Last Monday, like millions of others I stayed up to watch England’s magnificent win over Mexico; but unlike the majority of those dedicated fans, I did so for free, because I used my home solar battery to power my TV. It only took up one-third of the solar energy I stored in it, leaving plenty for Spain v Portugal later in the day.

That’s only one small example of how solar power can lessen the burden on the grid, but to do so at the rate needed will require a huge effort to get solar panels on roofs. According to the New Economics Foundation, about 8mn households could see their electricity “instantly drop” through a nationwide scheme to get solar panels and batteries installed. 

The think tank says that with the right finance model, millions of homes could be using cheaper energy with no upfront costs and with “no direct cost to the government”. 

Sitting in the middle of a second heatwave in the space of a month, and with the prospect of the energy price cap remaining as it is for the rest of the year, we have to say we agree.

I watched the England beat Mexico for free using a solar battery

It spent all Sunday plugged into a portable solar panel, so that by kick off in the early hours on Monday I was watching England get through to the World Cup quarter finals without any energy from the grid.

Government closes latest renewable energy auction

The Contracts for Difference Round 8 ended this week. This is where the government does its best to attract private investment for renewable energy generation projects by agreeing a ‘strike price’. This is an agreed price between a developer and the government, designed to guarantee long term investment. Data suggests that this latest round could unlock £30bn in investment for wind alone. 

Loan scheme for panels and batteries could cut energy bills “immediately” 

That’s what the New Economics Foundation thinks. It has called on the government to make it easier for households to get solar panels and batteries in their home in a way which has no upfront cost for households or government.

Allume launches new solar battery for flats

SolShare 2 has helped some people who live in flats save £690 a year. The idea is it helps several flats access the same solar system, spreading the benefits across different households. 

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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Will Georgiadis

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