Maas Capital (part of the ABN AMRO Bank) is to invest £160 million to fund the installation of solar panels from Solarplicity on affordable housing in England and Wales.

Solarplicity will partner with social housing providers to install panels on their housing stock. It has recruited more than 40 social landlords, including local authorities.

Around 100,000 households will receive panels in the next 18 months, and the scheme plans to total 800,000 in the next five years. The panels will be free to social housing tenants, and Solarplicity says it will discount their energy bills by an average of £240 a year, compared to standard variable tariffs .

Solarplicity says over 1,000 new jobs will be created to install and maintain the panels. Many of these jobs will go to veterans from the armed forces, as Solarplicity helps re-train them into new maintenance careers.

Tenants in the North West will be the biggest beneficiaries with over 290,000 homes receiving solar panels in towns like Oldham and Bradford, followed by the North East and Midlands, with 184,000 and 154,000 homes from Leeds to Derby.

The Department for International Trade’s Capital Investment team introduced Solarlicity’s programme of social housing solar panels to overseas investors and facilitated strategic discussions between Solarplicity and Maas Capital.