WINCHESTER could be on course to become a 'Solar City' after town chiefs launched a pilot programme of energy panels.

Winchester Action on Climate Change has identified 50 sites which could kickstart the Solar City programme, saving enough energy to power hundreds of homes for 25 years.

The Town Forum agreed a pilot scheme which could persuade 20 of these landlords to take the panels.

But the meeting heard the scheme is not guaranteed to work and is based on "hopelessly optimistic" figures.

Installing solar PV on the 50 sites would generate 59.6 million units of electricity over 25 years, enough to power 722 homes, according to a report by Horizon Power and Energy.

Carbon emissions would be cut by 29,000 tonnes: the output of 400 cars over the same period.

But the rollout would cost around £3.3 million, Winchester Town Forum heard last week.

Cllr Robert Sanders described the carbon savings figures as "hopelessly optimistic" and branded the scheme a "vanity project".

Cllr Ian Tait added: "I don't want to [do] something just because it seems like a good idea, because we use a lot of officer resources and that's a very precious and limited resource. We put officers under intense pressure."

Almost 80 per cent of buildings in the study are commercial sites on the outskirts of Winchester.

The study estimates 4,000 panels could be installed on the pilot sites, but landlords have yet to be contacted and it is unclear whether this would be feasible.