A solar installation at Bristol City Council’s central offices has officially been switched on.

The 30KW rooftop array is expected to generate 26,000kWh of electricity annually.

That’s equivalent to powering two floors of LED lights for each working day of the year.

The project is part of the local authority’s commitment to Bristol 2015 European Green Capital.

The city has also installed a sculpture of two life size whales made from recycled bottles, marking the city’s green status.

Mayor of Bristol George Ferguson said: “By using cleaner energy through schemes such as this, we are leading by example and encouraging all with appropriate roof space to follow suit.

“To date, we have installed more than 300KW with more than 1500KW in the pipeline until 2016 but there is much greater scope remaining across the city.”

The council’s four-year city-wide solar programme will see installations on a range of community buildings, council offices, schools and libraries.

Thanh Xuan