Insight Investment, a large pension fund manager in the UK, is considering an investment in a solar power fund that promises steady, inflation-linked returns for up to 25 years - an investment that, if made, would represent a rare public commitment by a big institution to the renewable energy source in the UK.

Insight is in talks with Solar Capital, a new venture founded by Angus Fraser, a former Ernst & Young partner and entrepreneur. Fraser's company has been running for about six months, buying and installing solar panels, but to date has been operating at the level of "tens of millions [of pounds]", he said.