ONE of the South West’s first solar carports will be opened at the headquarters of a North Somerset company.

Solarsense in Brockley will host an open day at its Brockley Lane base on Saturday to show people the alternatives for fossil fuel.

During the event, Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis will officially open the carport and be the first to charge his electric car.

Solarsense has installed the community facility for anybody wanting to charge their vehicle and the company will also earn income from it by feeding any excess electricity it generates into the national grid.

During the open day, which will run from 10.30am-2.30pm a wide range of electric vehicles from Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Renault will be available to test drive as well as electric-powered bicycles from Bristol specialists Atmosphere Electric Bikes. Also on show will be an electric Smart car which is effectively powered by the sun.