Schools could soon have their electricity supplied by wind, water and sun under an £800,000-a-year deal.

Brighton and Hove City Council has been trying for years to find a supplier that could provide energy from renewable sources at a reasonable price.

Now councillors are being recommended to accept a tender from British Gas for a supply to 1,250 sites, including many schools and administrative buildings.

The tender is worth about £800,000 a year and is 3.1 per cent lower than the existing contract.

If the council accepts the contract, it would also be exempt from a climate change levy, a tax introduced last year aimed at encouraging this sort of switch.

Only about 2.5 per cent of electricity is produced from renewable sources and the Government wants to increase this to ten per cent during the next eight years.

A council spokeswoman said most of the energy would come from wind and solar power. Some might also come from gas produced from landfill sites.

British Gas is preparing a document confirming the integrity of its bid.

Thirteen firms showed an interest in the contract but many could not produce a supply from green sources.

City services director Paul Hart said council officials had rejected some offers which claimed to be green but were not.

He said: "It was made clear in the tender only electricity generated from renewable sources could be considered.

"This exercise has managed to obtain a supply from renewable sources and a saving on price."