16 April 2025
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Good Energy, opens the gates to ‘Sunshine Place’ — a model village brimming with good energy.
The B Corp-certified energy company has equipped Sunshine Place, the newest neighbourhood in Southsea Model Village with handmade miniature heat pumps and solar panels, showcasing the huge range of UK homes that can be made more efficient with renewable technology. There are 12 new homes outfitted with solar panels and heat pumps, as well as eight retrofitted existing homes and businesses.
The two-week installation, open to the public between 12 and 26 April, hopes to inspire visitors and drive action from politicians to recognise the role small green energy generators can have on the country’s clean power goals.
Good Energy has also written to MPs close to the issue of the clean energy transition, calling on them to revisit the now-defunct Sunshine Bill, which would have mandated solar as standard on all new homes. The letters, which feature an attention-grabbing pop-up house, also advocate for the removal of green levies from electricity bills and moving them into general taxation, which would make heating a home with a heat pump more cost-efficient while lowering energy bills for everyone.
Lastly Good Energy has called for more funding to be made available for lower income households for solar and heat pumps, to make access to clean technologies fairer.
Dotted around the Sunshine Place site are handmade scale models of the nation’s most vocal renewable champions and sceptics, including:
- Ed Miliband, Labour Secretary of State for Energy, a vocal supporter of clean energy
- Max Wilkinson, Lib Dem MP for Cheltenham, the original member to raise the Sunshine Bill in Parliament
- Miatta Fahnbulleh, Labour Minister for Energy Consumers, including Warm Homes plan and Clean Heat
- Stephen Morgan, Labour MP for Portsmouth South, a proponent of extra energy bill support for Portsmouth families
- Nigel Farage, Reform MP for Clacton, vocal detractor of green and sustainable energy
Domestic gas boilers account for 17% of all UK carbon emissions, but by retrofitting the model village with tiny heat pumps and solar panels, Good Energy hopes to playfully champion the accessibility and versatility of renewable energy solutions – and allay concerns about aesthetics.
Strategically placed placards around the model village debunk misconceptions and outline the grants and subsidies currently available as well as challenge government decisions on ensuring UK homes are prepared for a fully renewable future.
Nigel Pocklington CEO at Good Energy says: “Small changes can have a big impact. Sunshine Place demonstrates what a greener, cleaner future could look like in the UK. As a nation, we need rapid adoption of sustainable energy solutions, but we also know that making that leap is a big decision for consumers, especially considering ever-increasing energy bills.
“Helping people understand their options, the grants available, the money they can save and their potential contribution to the nationwide push towards net zero is what has guided this feel-good campaign and installation."
Mark Wilson and Dean Wilson, owners of Southsea Model Village said, “We’re delighted to be partnering with Good Energy on the construction of Sunshine Place. To be able to support such an important message and use the village to showcase what a sustainably powered future could look like is a great honour.”
www.goodenergy.co.uk/sunshine-place
