Gloucestershire County Council is set to invest £2 million on installing solar panels at schools in the county.

The council has committed to creating a carbon neutral county by 2045, as well as reducing emissions by 80% by 2030. Investing in low carbon technology such as solar panels will help meet these targets.

A report going to cabinet next week (July 24) says the plan for schools has the potential to reduce over 500 tonnes of CO2 every year.

A pilot scheme is currently in place at six of the council's maintained schools - Nailsworth CofE Primary, Harewood Junior in Tuffley, St John's Primary in Cheltenham, Ashchurch Primary in Tewkesbury, Stow-on-the-Wold Primary and Woolaston Primary in Lydney.

The pilot is to establish the costs of installation and will enable measures to be put in place to ensure an efficient rollout of the project at other schools.

Each of the council's maintained schools will be assessed to determine whether they are suitable for inclusion in the programme. The council aims to install solar panels on the maximum number of schools possible which meet the criteria and expects that 85 out of 100 schools will be suitable.

The panels would generate average estimated annual savings of £4,360 per school and they would be expected to last over 20 years, subject to maintenance.

The project will see the panels installed in tranches starting in October this year and working through to March 2027.

Cabinet is being recommended to approve up to £2 million from the budget to provide solar panels on selected maintained schools' premises. If approved, a procurement process would follow to arrange contracts for purchase and installation of the panels.

Cllr Lynden Stowe, cabinet member for finance and change at Gloucestershire County Council, said: "We're committed to meeting our climate targets and this proposal will help by decreasing carbon emissions at schools. Schools have been very receptive to the plans, which will help them generate savings by reducing their energy bills.

"I hope the measures will encourage more people to follow suit and install solar panels on their homes and businesses to reduce their carbon footprint."