Durham plans 3,000 home solar project
Durham County Council is considering plans to fit photovoltaic panels to 3,000 of its homes.
The cabinet will examine proposals to fit the panels to some of its south-facing properties when it next meets, on 14 September.
The move is part of a wider strategy to combat fuel poverty in County Durham by reducing energy costs and improving insulation. Fuel poverty affects more than 27 per cent of households in the area.
Clive Robson, cabinet member for housing, said: ‘Solar panels reduce carbon emissions as they convert sunlight into electricity for use in the home, making the scheme financially attractive, all the more so over its 25-year lifetime as a feed-in tariff allows electricity to be sold back to the National Grid.’
The council is also looking to access the government’s green deal energy efficiency scheme, which launches next year, to make further steps to reduce fuel poverty.
Mr Robson said: ‘Communities in the north east are more likely to suffer fuel poverty than elsewhere in the country. However, County Durham is the best in the region, and second best in the country, for attracting funding to help people overcome it.’
