First European Off-Grid Solar-Hydrogen Powered House Developed in Devon

First European Off-Grid Solar-Hydrogen Powered House Developed in Devon
(Image credit: Rural Solutions)

A new fully off-grid solar-hydrogen powered individual home – a European first – has been granted planning approval in the open countryside.

Paragraph 79 (formerly Paragraph 55) allows ambitious self builders to build an individual home in areas that might otherwise be restricted (such as open countryside). However, the design must be of ‘exceptional quality’ in order to meet the stringent policy.

Jack Woodfield
News Editor

Jack has worked in journalism for 11 years and is the News Editor for Homebuilding & Renovating, a role he has had since 2019. He strives to break the most relevant and beneficial stories for self builders, extenders and renovators, including the latest news on the construction materials shortage and hydrogen heating. In 2021 he appeared on BBC's The World at One to discuss the government's planning reforms. 


He enjoys testing new tools and gadgets, and having bought his first home in 2013, he has renovated every room and recently finished a garden renovation.