Clwyd Alyn Housing Association, part of the Pennaf Housing Group, is to invest £2 million in solar panels for 300 of its tenants. Building contractors Lovell Partnerships and their sub-contractors SolarTech have been appointed to carry out the work.

Clwyd contacted more than 1,000 tenants and selected houses and flats in areas of fuel poverty where the tenants have high energy bills or running costs. Orientation and types of roof were also criteria.

Residents will now benefit from the free electricity generated by their ~2.4kW installations, which are made up of JA Solar modules and SMA inverters. Clwyd will recoup its investment through the feed-in tariff payments.

Pennaf Group Chief Executive Graham Worthington said, “It’s all part of our commitment as a Registered Social Landlord, to decrease our carbon footprint and become more energy efficient.”

Development Officer Jeff Williams added, “Not all of our homes are suitable, so we are prioritising installation into the houses which will be able to provide the maximum benefit to our tenants.

“On average the PV solar panels can save [tenants] between £150 and £300 per year, depending on the day-time electricity usage of the tenant, and each home fitted with the panels can save around 1000kg of carbon emissions each year too – so it’s good for the purse, and good for the planet.”

The project is expected to be completed by Christmas 2011.