Thousands of solar panels are set to be installed at council depots in Salford.
The £1m plan would see solar carports created at the Swinton Hall Road and Turnpike House depots using an EU grant awarded to Greater Manchester.
The energy-generating structures would harness the power of the sun to create electricity while providing shelter for vehicles parked beneath them.
READ MORE: 'State-of-the-art' solar farm and new hydroelectric schemes will power 638 homes
This would contribute to meeting the city-region's target to increase renewable power generation while saving the local authority money and moving closer to the council's zero carbon ambition, according to a report.
It comes after funding for a 'state-of-the-art' solar farm in Little Hulton and a hydro-electric scheme at Charlestown Weir was approved in October 2020.
However, more funding is now available due to Oldham withdrawing its scheme from the Unlocking Clean Energy in Greater Manchester project.
Salford council officers have suggested the money left over from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is used for the carports.
A council report said: "Oldham withdrew their scheme from the project leaving an opportunity for the other partners to use the funding allocated to Oldham’s project.
"Following assessment of potential schemes, officers recommend that this element of the ERDF funding could be used to install solar carports at two of our depots – Turnpike and Swinton Hall Road."
Solar energy company NPS conducted a feasibility study for four carports at two council depots – three at Turnpike House and one at Swinton Hall Road.
The study estimated that the four carports would generate more than 0.5 megawatts of electricity, equivalent to a quarter of Salford's new solar farm.
They would also save nearly 160,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.
Construction of the carports at the main entrance, central and office block car parks of Turnpike House will be phased to minimise impact on parking and alternative parking would be used at Swinton Hall Road while work takes place.
Council officers also said that 'future models of working' could reduce demand for parking at council depots, mitigating the impact of construction on site.
But they said carports should not result in the loss of parking in the long-term.
Planning permission will be required before the carports can be installed at either site, but planning costs cannot be reclaimed from the ERDF grant.
Salford council has committed to contributing approximately £603,000 towards the scheme, with the ERDF grant contributing around £518,000.
The project was endorsed in principle at a meeting on August 9, but further information was requested with regard to financial aspects of the scheme.
Deputy mayor John Merry approved the plan the following week on August 17.
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