Inside London's big solar scandal

The Solar Together scheme was meant to kickstart the capital's switch to solar power but instead has been beset by delays, leaving many out of pocket and trying to escape the situation. What went wrong?

- Anthony France

WHEN Nicole Mowbray and her husband decided to invest in solar panels for their home, little did they realise that helping to make London greener would turn into a nightmare.

The couple are among hundreds who put their trust in the multi-million pound Solar Together scheme only to find themselves battling to get large deposits back after unacceptable delays.

The Solar Together scheme has been backed since 2017 by Mayor Sadiq Khan and several local authorities, as part of an energy policy which aims to make London zero carbon. The Mowbrays, from Brixton, were delighted to see an advert for a solar panel group-buying initiative in Lambeth Council's magazine, Lambeth Talk. The blurb reassured residents having the system "will allow you to cut energy costs and power your home with clean energy".

"Our pre-vetted solar installers will submit bids for the work to give you the most competitive price," it stated.

Writer and mother-of-one Ms Mowbray, 43 - married to photojournalist Lewis, 44-told the Standard: "If something will make the place greener for our children, I'm all in favour of it. We didn't really think too much about paying the upfront deposit of £150 or, if all went well, the total cost of £8,500 for the panels.

"I trusted the installer-Green Energy Together UK (GET-UK)-because it was part of the scheme which was backed by the Mayor of London and Lambeth Council. If I were to do this myself, I would look up Checkatrade and do my own research."

Which is exactly what Ms Mowbray, a former British Vogue features editor, did when things went downhill fast.

Having gladly received her deposit, she says GET-UK failed to turn up on December 22 and 27 or January 3 to carry out a survey.