Leading the charge
Thursday 29th May, 2025
A Newham company is leading the charge to deliver 100,000 Zero Bills Homes across the UK by 2030.
Planet A, which is based on Newham Road, has teamed up with Threemilestone house builders Verto and Octopus Energy to design self-sustaining homes that are fully powered by green tech such as solar panels, heat pumps and batteries, leading to zero energy bills.
The small team at Planet A has spent five years working as a not-for-profit consultancy developing plans and strategies to help companies decarbonise by moving away from fossil fuels and towards renewables. These range from engineering fixes to whole building solutions.
Co-founder and director Amanda Forman explains: “A couple of years ago, we were approached by Verto, who have been building homes for 15 years using heat pumps and solar. Octopus Energy were launching a campaign to deliver 100,000 Zero Bills Homes by 2030, and Verto wanted to be the first company to build them. Our role was the design and modelling.”
The result was Nexa Fields, a groundbreaking development of 40 homes in Pinhoe near Exeter. Combining cutting-edge technology with modern design, it was the UK’s first whole housing site to be awarded Zero Bills status and guarantees no energy bills for at least five years, saving residents up to £3,458 annually compared to a typical dual-fuel home. It was subsequently named the UK’s Best Sustainable Residential Development at the 2024 UK Property Awards.
At the tail end of 2024, Planet A received investment to create a new limited company. It is now working with Verto on research and development into net-zero solutions for new builds and retrofits to existing buildings. “This includes building health and functionality as well as energy efficiency,” says Amanda. “We are getting clients ready to meet the targets we all need to meet.”
An ambitious project recently approved for planning permission is the first zero-carbon student village in Penryn, anticipated for completion in 2030.
Planet A and Verto are now seeking to cement their relationship by building a new headquarters in Truro. It’s a big gear-change for a company that, by Amanda’s own admission, has been “just getting on with stuff for five years. We’ve been head down and not talking about it very much, so it’s really very exciting to be growing into this space.”
Planet A's not-for-profit arm continues to work in green education and training, with workshops and courses for organisations looking to upskill inhouse. For further information, email amanda@planetaenergy.org or visit www.planetaenergy.org
A Newham company is leading the charge to deliver 100,000 Zero Bills Homes across the UK by 2030.