Berwickshire Housing Association (BHA) has undertaken a programme to install solar panels on more than 500 of its homes.

The project, which is the largest of its kind ever carried out by a Scottish housing association, is due to start at properties in Boston Court, Duns, and Sanderson Way in Eyemouth.

The first 50 installations will be completed this month, with the aim of completing the entire scheme by the autumn.

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The project is being run under contract with Edison Energy, which has already completed a smaller, similar project for Knowes Housing Association in Clydebank.

BHA’s Projects Manager Alan Hobbett said: "BHA will rent the air space above our homes to Edison Energy for the next 20 years under a 'rent-a-roof' agreement. Edison Energy will fit the solar panels and then maintain them for the period of the agreement. BHA tenants in the homes where panels have been fitted will be able to use the electricity the panels generate free of charge benefitting from lower electricity bills as a result.

"Edison Energy will then recover their costs over the contract period through the Government’s Feed in Tariff (FIT) which pays a fixed amount for every unit of electricity generated by the panels. It really is a case where everybody wins."

(JP/CD)