OREANDA-NEWS. January 22, 2015. Peterborough is set to become the first British local authority to ink a strategic investment partnership with a Chinese firm, in a bid to access fresh funding for a wave of clean technology projects.

City Council cabinet members will be asked to approve the strategic partnership agreement next week, rubberstamping the multi-million pound deal.

As part of the deal, financial details of which were not disclosed, Chinese investment firm AVIC will fund a series of clean energy and efficiency projects, including solar panel installations, LED street lighting upgrades, and smart meter deployments. One of the first projects to be supported through the new partnership is expected to see the installation of solar PV canopies at local car parks.

Marco Cereste, PCC leader, said the deal represents a further boost to the city's efforts to establish itself as one of the UK's leading clean tech hubs.

"Peterborough is committed to becoming the environment capital of the UK," he said in a statement. "Our partnership with AVIC will give us access to expertise, infrastructure and funding that will help us achieve this goal. We have already identified renewable energy schemes, energy efficiency improvements and infrastructure investments that could all benefit from this partnership."

Peter Feehan, a partner in the commercial team at law firm Pinsent Masons which advised on the agreement, said other local authorities could seek similar partnerships with Chinese investors, particularly given recent research suggesting Chinese firms will invest ?43.5bn in the UK energy sector through to 2025.

"Peterborough has consistently shown itself to be at the forefront of tackling energy efficiency issues, taking steps to become a future-proofed smart city, and we are delighted to have helped broker this deal," he said. "As the first deal of its kind, it's likely that other local authorities will follow suit and seek to form partnerships with Chinese companies seeking to expand their UK portfolio."

AVIC itself reportedly has plans to support 100MW of UK renewable energy capacity and Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to the UK, said the new partnership provided further evidence of how the two countries could co-operate on the development of clean energy projects.

"This is excellent news for Chinese investment into the UK," Liu said. "I am also delighted that the initiatives of the government of China and the UK on investment in technology, city regeneration and the acceleration of the smart cities are now starting to take effect. I hope that this deal will continue to develop and will benefit the people and the community of Peterborough for many years to come."