Councillors on policy & resources committee have agreed to issue a tender for works to install the panels on 1,200 council houses.

The works will be a step towards the delivery of Scotland’s Sustainable Housing Strategy which sets out a vision for warm, high quality, affordable, low carbon homes.

The investment is expected to improve the quality of council houses across Aberdeenshire, in line with the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH) with tenants benefitting from reduced energy costs. The programme will see solar panels installed on 1,200 council houses over the next three years.

Chair of policy & resources committee, Cllr Martin Kitts-Hayes, welcomed the initiative.

He said: “This is a huge clear demonstration of our commitment to creating energy efficient homes that are cheaper to run for our tenants and contribute to cutting greenhouse gas emissions and reducing fuel poverty.”

Vice chair of the committee, Cllr Richard Thomson, added: “We have an on-going programme of investment in our council houses, and this latest initiative is a welcome boost to cut costs for our tenants and contribute to meeting energy efficiency standards.”

The tender will be advertised shortly, and committee will be asked to award the contract in the spring.