• Swindon & Wiltshire Eco
• Wednesday April 23 2025
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Mini Miliband and tiny Farage argue about climate crisis in model village

A miniature Ed Miliband and tiny Nigel Farage have been arguing about the climate crisis in a model village – courtesy of Wiltshire-based electricity supplier Good Energy.

The company has equipped Sunshine Place, the newest neighbourhood in Southsea Model Village near Portsmouth, with 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.

Dotted around the Sunshine Place site are handmade scale models of the nation’s most vocal renewable champions and climate sceptics, including Ed Miliband, Labour secretary of state for energy and Nigel Farage, Reform MP for Clacton and a vocal detractor of green and sustainable energy.

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.

And 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.

Domestic gas boilers account for 17 per cent 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 said: “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 and Dean Wilson, co-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.”

Good Energy is the headline sponsor of The Festival of Sustainable Homes, which takes place at the National Self Build & Renovation Centre in Swindon on Friday and Saturday, May 16 and 17.

Sunshine Place can be visited until Saturday, April 26.

Images: PA Media