A COUNCIL is considering whether to go green and put solar panels on its buildings.

Lib Dem members on Weymouth and Portland Borough Council believe the authority should investigate installing photovoltaic (PV) solar panels on premises it owns and generating money from it.

The council doesn’t have any PV installations at the moment but a biomass boiler is in operation in the parks nursery.

Lib Dem councillors want officers to come up with a scheme for the installation and operation of renewable energy solar power generation. Funding would come from internal borrowing from the council’s balances.

Councillors proposing the plan say the council will benefit from the government’s Feed-In Tariffs scheme which gives a financial return to people or organisations generating their own electricity.

It would also fulfil commitments under a renewable energy strategy for Dorset.

But the move has been blocked for the time-being as the council is reviewing its property portfolio and will be selling off some of its buildings including the Municipal Offices and Guildhall as part of a costcutting exercise.

The management committee deferred the issue until the review is complete, but will be looking into whether the Chickerell Depot – one of the few buildings the council will continue to own in the future – is suitable for panels.