A NORTH-EAST village may become the first in the country to get its power solely from renewable energy sources.

The people of Middleton in Teesdale, near Barnard Castle, County Durham, will be using heat pumps and biomass boilers instead of coal and oil to power their homes - if a community energy organisation can persuade them to make the switch.

Community Energy Solutions (CES) advises non-gas users on how to switch to gas or other sources.

Because Middleton is so rural, laying pipes to connect the village to a gas supply would cost too much and, for that reason, CES wants to encourage people to use renewable energy.

The group picked the village because of the high levels of carbon emissions in Teesdale, together with the fact that much of the village suffers from fuel poverty - meaning that more than ten per cent of household income is spent on energy.

The group has distributed questionnaires to houses in Middleton and is going door-to-door to gauge the opinions of residents.

Should the response be positive, homeowners will be able to buy cheap heat pumps for their homes.

Heat pumps work like air-conditioning machines, although they collect warm air and use it to heat water for central heating systems.

The village would also use water turbines, biomass boilers and solar panels, which would be paid for by private and public funds.

The group has already highlighted two former mills in the village which could be turned into water turbines.

Planting trees would also help achieve the project's goal of making Middleton-in-Teesdale carbon neutral.

Richard Betton, Teesdale District Councillor for Middleton, said: "If the plans don't cost too people much, and make Middleton a more sustainable community, I could see that it could be quite exciting for the village."

Chris Leek, chief executive of CES, said: "It's an incredibly exciting prospect to think that the residents, as a group, could be leading the way in developing energy systems that could become the norm in years to come."

Residents and shop owners in the village are more sceptical about the plan.

Terrance McKeon, a resident of Middleton, said: "A lot would depend on the cost. There are a lot of elderly people in Middleton, and to put it bluntly, at my age, I have to ask myself whether I'm going to get my money back."

Linda Armitage, owner of Armitage's Store in the village, said: "If this plan was to save a vast amount of money, then we would think about it, but there are a lot of people in the village who wouldn't want to change."

CES expect to be able to publish their findings into the project in April.