Solar power plan for 2,000 houses

A PLAN for 2,000 solar panels on council homes across Kirklees will be put before Cabinet members today.

Senior councillors will be asked to back the £9.2m scheme which will be funded with Housing Revenue money, with 50 houses getting solar panels this year, 1,000 in 2015/16 and 950 in the year after that.

The council says the scheme will provide income and should pay for itself.

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A spokesman for Kirklees Council said: “The project will target up to 2,000 households at risk of fuel poverty.

“A reduction in fuel poverty is the key driver for the project rather than maximising income and the intention would be to target properties with poor thermal efficiency.”

The project will mean a future income of £14m overall based on the electricity generated and sold via the feed-in-tariff scheme.

“It is hoped this will mean the project becomes self-financing.

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The solar panels are also expected to reduce household bills by £100 each year, with 50 per cent of the electricity generated used by the tenant.

Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing will consult with tenants about which homes are most suitable for the solar panels and a list of 2,652 suitable houses will be considered by the councillors in a private part of today’s meeting.

The work will largely be done by Kirklees Building Services, who are Green Deal accredited installers of solar PV.