Cheshire Police Authority has approved the installation of solar panels on seven of their buildings, including Wilmslow police station.
The solar panels will also be installed on Blacon and Winsford police stations, the custody suites at Blacon, Runcorn and Middlewich and at the Tactical Training Centre on the Cheshire Police Headquarters site in Winsford.
At current prices the panels will reduce energy bills for the buildings by £17,500 a year and attract Government subsidies of about £34,000. The panels will also provide carbon savings of 101 tonnes in the first year.
Margaret Ollerenshaw, the Police Authority chairman, said, "The carbon saving is equivalent to three per cent of our overall carbon emissions savings target. It is a real opportunity to work towards a long-term goal.
"The cost savings are based on current energy prices and it is estimated we would cover the half-million pound cost of the project in about seven years.
"If energy prices rise, the savings will be even higher and there is also the possibility that at least one of the buildings will produce enough electricity for some of it to be 'exported′ for use elsewhere."
Cheshire′s Chief Constable David Whatton said, "This is very good news from every point of view."
