Hackney Council has embarked on plans to set up its own eco-friendly solar energy company.

The publicly-owned Energy Company Delivery Board should launch by January, and plans are afoot to cover up half of all council-owned residential roof space with solar panels.

With an estimated 9,700 households in the borough suffering from fuel poverty, the move should put the council in a stronger position to supply competitively-priced energy to vulnerable residents.

Energy chief Cllr Jon Burke said: “In the face of limited and often retrograde central government action, Hackney is joining a movement across local government that is helping to transform the energy system from one underpinned by fossil fuels to one characterised by clean and extremely low-carbon sources of energy.

“It is our aim to protect residents and the environment we live in. By ensuring there is another publicly-owned, publicly-accountable energy company in the marketplace, we believe we can achieve these goals while placing reputational pressure on the dominant players of the energy world, driving change more broadly.”