BIDDERS are being invited to come forward as Winchester City Council seeks to install solar panels on up to 2,000 houses.

Cabinet members backed the project when they met at the city’s guildhall on Wednesday, October 13.

Tory opposition councillors also welcomed the idea, but asked for more details about how the scheme will operate.

The council aims to link up with a solar power company that will install the panels, which could cost up to £14m.

The idea is that the firm’s profits would come from sharing in the money received from the electricity generated by the scheme.

Council coffers could also be boosted, while tenants in the houses with panels might see annual fuel bills drop by £85 to £120.

Cllr Lucille Thompson, cabinet member for communities, said they hoped to share the benefits of the scheme with all council tenants.

The authority has around 5,000 properties, of which 2,000 might have suitable roofs.

For those that do not qualify, Cllr Thompson said the council might spend some of its extra income improving those homes.

Alan Rickman, co-chair of Winchester tenants’ group, Tact, told the cabinet that they supported the scheme.

Tory group leader, Cllr George Beckett, then said the project offered “huge benefits but a huge number of questions”.

He asked for opposition members to receive more details and suggested that it should come to full council.

His party colleague, Cllr Frank Pearson, asked what would happen to homes that could not bear the weight of the panels.

He asked if their roofs would be shored up, and if planning permission might be a stumbling block.

Cllr Kelsie Learney, who leads the council, said they could not afford to spend too long debating whether to go ahead.

The Government has offered to buy surplus electricity from local authorities, but deals must be signed before April 2012. After that, it is unclear if similar offers will be made.

Cllr Learney said: “If we did this in three years’ time we could not say if it would be economically viable or not.”

The cabinet voted to approve the start of the bidding process, which is likely to take at least five months.

Council chiefs will then make a decision whether to push ahead with the scheme early next year.