Sadiq Khan's school solar panel plan would be 'like building a whole new power station'

Sadiq Khan has announced a 10 point net zero plan for London that he would enact if re-elected as the capital's mayor on May 2. Dropping in to talk to staff at Stoke Newington School this morning (Friday, April 12) with former Labour leader Ed Miliband, Mr Khan talked about a proposal to spend £2 million on installing solar panels on 50 schools across the city and making them more environmentally friendly overall.

MyLondon understands there is not yet a definitive list of schools that will receive the new tech, but some have already been rolled out. This includes at the site of the today's visit in Hackney.

The panels at Stoke Newington School cost £35,000 but will 'pay for themselves' in four to five years, as more than £5,000 is reportedly saved per year on energy bills. They were paid for by a combination of a grant from City Hall and local fundraising, and are ‘self cleaning', with rain water washing off dust.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about London Assembly elections 2024

Mr Khan says his ‘Net Zero Schools’ initiative would help schools in the capital become 'more energy efficient as well as major sources of energy generation'. The mayor adds that money would also be spent on installing heat pumps.

His team says the scheme would be rolled out with the hope to expand to more schools, and reduce energy bills for schools by up to £50,000 a year.

Taken together, they add, the rooftops of London's schools could produce 'the output equivalent to a new power station'.

Other aspects of Mr Khan's plan include:

• Delivering a 100 per cent zero-emission bus fleet in London by 2030

• Putting air pollution filters in primary schools

• Providing more than 40,000 new public bike parking spaces on high streets and in schools, stations and residential areas by 2030

• Increasing the number of electric vehicle charging points in London to 40,000 - 'more than double' the current amount - by 2030

• Making homes and offices 'more energy efficient'

• Expanding the School Streets initiative, which restricts car access outside schools during drop off and pick up times

• Increasing investment in walking and cycling

• Planting more trees and creating new green spaces, focused on 'the areas of London that need them most'

Tory candidate 'taking Trumpian approach to climate'

The mayor also criticised the approach of his Tory opponent, Susan Hall. Mr Khan claimed that she is a ‘proud anti-green candidate’ who has ‘promoted climate science denial’ and takes a ‘Trumpian approach to the climate crisis’.

A spokesperson for Ms Hall rebuffed these claims. They said: "Susan believes in a fair and practical transition to net zero, while Sadiq Khan believes in hitting motorists in the pocket with ULEZ and pay-per-mile taxes. Susan will scrap Sadiq Khan's ULEZ expansion and pay-per-mile plans on her first day as Mayor."

Ms Hall told MyLondon in October that she would provide £50 million to tackle pollution 'hotspots' across the city. Mr Khan has told MyLondon that a pay-per-mile scheme is ‘off the table’ as long as he is mayor.

This is despite the mayor telling MyLondon in March 2023: “The ultimate destination is a smart road user charging scheme in London. We've been looking around the world about what sort of schemes they have. The best one, and it's a compliment, is Singapore, but it's not quite what we're after.

"What we want is a scheme that can treat each driver differently in relation to time you're driving, distance you're driving and if there are good alternatives with public transport and how polluting your vehicle is."

Read our exclusive sit-down interview with Sadiq Khan ahead of the London mayoral election here. Read our full chat with Susan Hall here.

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