Solar panel plans for Lincolnshire council homes
Thousands of council houses in part of Lincolnshire could have solar panels fitted, making £300,000 a year for the local authority.
North Kesteven District Council said it was looking at installing the panels on almost 2,500 council-owned properties in the area.
A private company would rent the roof spaces from the council at about £150 for each property.
The council said tenants could save more than £100 a year on fuel bills.
Out of nearly 4,000 properties owned by the council in the district, it said just under 2,500 would be suitable.
The council's idea is for the work to be done by a partner organisation who would fund the cost of installing the panels.
It estimates this would cost about £14m, but believes the firm could recoup about £30m over the next 25 years under the government's feed-in tariff.
The council has until April 2012 to take advantage of the government's clean energy cash-back scheme and benefit from the higher feed-in tariffs (the amount the government pays for the electricity generated).
Michael Gadd, the property manager at the council, said: "At the moment the government is offering about 43 pence per every kilowatt that's produced.
"That's changing next April and it's going to reduce.
"Twenty-five years is the current lifespan of the panels and the feeding tariff, so it is a long-term investment."
Councillors will discuss the proposal at a meeting in Sleaford on Wednesday.