Aberdeen City Council was left with a bill of more than £275,000 after having to switch off solar panels for health and safety concerns.

The payment had to be made following a series of so-called “thermal events” that were reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

According to the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Committee, the local authority entered into an agreement with Mark Group Ltd and Our Generation Ltd in 2012 for the supply and installation of PV panels on council buildings.

Following the installation, there were three “thermal events” that were classed as RIDDOR incidents (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences), forcing the council to switch off the solar systems.

As a result, a number of sites did not generate income for the contractor, which included loss of income from electricity sales and Feed-in Tariff, leading to the council having to pay £275,000 in total.

Fire risk assessments were carried out and a list of required actions was prepared to enable the system to be re-commissioned and switched back on.