Up to £50,000 of taxpayers’ money could be spent on installing solar panels at Braintree Council’s headquarters.
It was originally hoped the work would be carried out at no cost to the council.
But potential changes to the feed-in tariff for commercial solar panel schemes mean it could be difficult to find an energy company willing to pay the total cost of installation.
The full cost for about 250 photovoltaic panels is estimated to be £170,000 to £200,000.
The council expects to save about £3,700 a year in electricity costs over 25 years, based on current prices.
It will also save about 23 tonnes in carbon emissions every year.
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