A SCHEME providing solar-powered hot water to council tenants has been extended.
Five council homes in Richmondshire are having panels fitted as part of a pilot scheme to assess alternative energy sources. Four other homes were adapted to use solar power in April.
Representatives from the Energy Partnership Ltd, working in conjunction with the Energy Efficiency Advice Centre (EEAC), visited homes earlier this year to recruit residents to test the system.
The scheme is part of the district council's affordable warmth programme to make all council-owned accommodation as energy efficient and green as possible.
A deal brokered by the EEAC has seen energy supplier Scottish Power make a donation every time it removes coal-fired central heating and replaces it with gas.
"The deal with Scottish Power has meant we have £20,000 in the kitty," said the council's housing unit manager, Colin Dales.
"We decided that we would like to keep to the theme of energy efficiency."
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