A new social housing development in Llanelli is demonstrating how UK-made steel and integrated solar technology can support the delivery of sustainable, energy-efficient homes at scale.
Located next to Tata Steel’s Trostre steelworks, the 68-home Pemberton scheme will use around 350 tonnes of UK-produced light gauge steel, a type of lightweight steel shaped into frames and panels, used instead of timber to build parts of a structure.
The scheme also features SolarSeam, an innovative photovoltaic steel roofing product developed by Catnic. Manufactured in Wales using steel coming through Port Talbot, coated and bonded in Shotton, and sold via Catnic, it is designed to generate electricity even in low light conditions.
In Wales, new regulations will effectively require rooftop solar on most new buildings from 2027, embedding on-site renewable generation as a standard feature of development. Similar measures are expected across the UK through the Future Homes and Buildings Standards.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle has emphasised that UK steel will be essential to delivering 1.5 million new homes as part of broader ambitions across infrastructure, defence and technology.
Tata Steel UK Business Development Manager Kamal Rajput, who was involved in the deal with Beacon Housing and developers Edenstone, added:
“Successful businesses today collaborate with others to maximise the benefits from the latest innovations, the highest environmental ambitions, and consumer demand.
“This development is the perfect case study to demonstrate that philosophy and the credentials of steel for domestic housing, both in the frame system and the roof.”
