A new deal will see solar panels installed on 800,000 low-income UK homes over the next five years.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) helped secure £160 million of investment from Maas Capital into UK firm Solarplicity.

This funding forms the first stage of a £1 billion programme to help poor families and households produce their own affordable electricity.

The scheme will see Solarplicity partner with social housing providers to install panels on their housing stock so tenants can benefit from guaranteed discounts on their bills.

The panels will be free to social housing tenants, reducing their energy bills by an average of £240 a year or £192 million in total.

The deal will also create more than 1,000 new jobs to install and maintain the panels – many of these workers will be retrained military veterans.

International Trade Minister Greg Hands said: “After a record year for new foreign investment into the UK, this initial £160 million capital expenditure programme will deliver massive benefits to some of the UK’s poorest households.

“As well as creating 1,000 jobs and delivering cheaper energy bills for up to 800,000 homes, it shows yet another vote of confidence in the UK as a place to invest and do business.”