Portsmouth City Council wants to spend £30m on major solar panel projects

Cabinet member for climate change and the environment Kimberly Barrett will be asked to approve the £30m Low Carbon Projects Fund at her decision-making meeting on Monday before the scheme is considered by the full council the following day.

'The council has done a lot to tackle the climate crisis in recent years but we need to keep working to achieve as much as we can,’ she said.

'This isn't just about improving council buildings - while that can make a big difference we want to go further and help other big organisations in the city make sure their sites are as energy-efficient as possible.

'It will save businesses money on energy at a time when bills are rising and significantly benefit the environment.'

Among the projects the fund could be used for are the £11m solar and battery installations at Lakeside business park, a £160,000 roof-mounted school project and a £400,000 scheme for an unnamed industrial estate.

Should councillors back it, the £30m would be borrowed through the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB).

The council said these projects would create a 'long-term income' while funding new projects on council-owned sites would lead to budget savings.

'Recent changes to the PWLB conditions prevent the council from borrowing for yield,' the council's director of finance says in a report. 'The guidance from the PWLB does however allow the council to borrow to invest in energy savings projects where there is a clear policy purpose for the local authority, advancing its environment and climate change commitments, and is not primarily for generating an income.'

It says this includes investments in energy projects on land and buildings not owned by the council.

'Income from these types of projects will need to be invested to cross-subsidise the purchase of land and other environmental projects that the council wishes to pursue to meet this policy objective,' it adds.

Announcing the Lakeside plan last month, city council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson said it was part of the plan to make Portsmouth carbon neutral by 2030.