Lotus Energy heat pump installer Richard Wilkins screws pipes into a Vaillant Aerotherm Plus heat pump being installed at a residential estate in Farnham, Surrey, southwest of London, on June 2, 2025.
Justin Tallis | AFP | getty images
The UK government presented on Tuesday new rules In the latest response from policymakers to the economic fallout of the Iran conflict, developers are being required to install heat pumps and solar panels on all new homes across England.
British ministers say Iran war and biggest supply disruption The history of the oil market has reinforced the need to leverage clean energy as an energy security tool.
The Future Homes Standard – a set of new building regulations for England from 2028 – will set out requirements to ensure that homes are built with on-site renewable electricity generation, the majority of which is expected to be provided by solar power.
The rules will also cover low-carbon heating, such as heat pumps and heat networked homes.
The government said plug-in solar panels, which homeowners can install on balconies, will be available inside stores in the coming months.
“The Iran war has once again shown that our drive for clean energy is essential to our energy security so that we escape the grip of fossil fuel markets we do not control,” Britain’s Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said in a statement.
He said, “Whether through solar panels installed as standard in new homes or making it possible for people to buy plug-in solar power in stores, we are determined to provide clean energy so we can give our country energy sovereignty.”
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband arrives at Downing Street to attend a Cabinet meeting ahead of the announcement of the Spring Statement on March 03, 2026 in London, United Kingdom.
Wiktor Szymanowicz | Future Publications getty images
The guidance was widely welcomed by energy industry players, while some campaigners called on the UK government to move further to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels.
“People want to be free from these fossil fuel woes – since the conflict began in the Middle East, interest in solar energy has increased by 50%, with heat pumps and electric cars also seeing growth,” Greg Jackson, founder and CEO of Octopus Energy, said in a statement.
“Every solar panel, heat pump and battery cuts bills and boosts Britain’s energy independence. And the government’s latest steps could help cut the cost of electrification,” Jackson said.
Climate scientists have repeatedly warned that curbing global warming will require substantial reductions in the use of fossil fuels, including the burning of coal, oil and gas. main driver Of climate crisis.
energy security
The US and Israeli-led war on Iran, which began on February 28, is disrupting oil production and shipping in the region, as well as traffic through it. The strategically important Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed in recent weeks.
The Strait of Hormuz is a major narrow sea corridor that connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. About 20% of global oil and gas typically passes through it.
Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers urged the ruling centre-left Labor Party to focus on ensuring domestic energy supplies to reduce consumer bills amid the Iran war energy crisis.
In a post on social media, shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho of the centre-right Conservatives Called on The government will issue licenses for new oil and gas fields in the North Sea.
The Middle East conflict is resulting in steep increases in fuel prices in countries around the world.
Slovenia, on its part, recently Became the first EU member state to impose fuel rationing to deal with supply disruptions.
Meanwhile, Greece has Have been taken Limiting profit margins on fuel and supermarket products for three months.
Analysts expect the fallout from the Iran war to accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels, as countries increasingly recognize renewable energy as a way to improve resilience, reduce pollution and mitigate geopolitical risks.
