A TEAM of engineers in Bicester has won a £98,000 grant to develop “smarter” ways to use electricity generated by solar panels.

Four organisations working on the eco-town at North West Bicester had been involved in the bid to the Technology Strategy Board (TSB).

They were housing association A2Dominion, Carnego Systems, which led the team of engineers, Bicester-based technology and sustainability consultants Zeta LED Technology and BioRegional.

Plans for the first phase of the 5,000-home eco settlement will see solar panels built on the roofs of all 393 homes, the equivalent size of two-and-a-half football pitches.

Research will focus on how to use more power when the solar panels are generating the electricity to cut bills for residents at the site, off the B4100 Banbury Road.

NW Bicester project director Steve Hornblow said: “While NW Bicester is set to feature the UK’s largest domestic solar array, we are conscious that we don’t just install high-density solar PV panels, but look at ways in which the technology can optimise energy generation and subsequently reduce energy bills.

“The research we are now able to conduct, facilitated by the TSB funding, will ultimately deliver direct benefits to the residents of North West Bicester.”