A GREEN tax giveaway to encourage people to install wind turbines on their homes and abandon petrol-fuelled cars will be announced by Alistair Darling today.

Homeowners who sell power generated through DIY systems like solar panels will be exempt from tax.

The WMN has also learned that the tax for employees who opt for an electric company car will also be scrapped from 2012.

The rebates will be one of the few positive messages in a gloomy Pre-Budget Report as the Chancellor battles to tackle the £15 billion deficit.

As Mr Darling draws battle lines for the General Election – likely to be held in May – he is expected to announce a one-off tax on the bonuses of tens of thousands of bankers.

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It follows Gordon Brown's assault this week on fat cat civil servants – including dozens from the Westcountry – who earn more than £150,000 for running councils, health trusts and quangos.

As the Copenhagen climate change talks continue this week, Mr Darling hopes to focus attention on how he wants to use the tax system to encourage more environmentally friendly behaviour.

In particular, he wants to see a massive expansion in electric car use. A new range is expected on the market next year, costing about £25,000.

Employees with petrol or diesel company cars are taxed at 35 per cent of the cost price of the vehicle. At present, electric cars are taxed at 9 per cent, but Mr Darling will announce he wants to scrap the tax altogether.

The move is designed to stimulate the market for electric cars capable of going for longer without needing to be charged. One of the major criticisms of Government enthusiasm for the technology is that in car-dependent areas like Devon and Cornwall, where journeys tend to be longer, electric cars are not reliable.

The Chancellor will also announce an extra £1 billion investment in offshore wind. Ministers have previously pledged to generate a quarter of the UK's electricity from turbines around the coast.

A stretch of the Bristol Channel, several miles from the North Devon and Somerset coast, has been earmarked for a series of turbines. However, the Crown Estate scrapped plans to develop sites off the North Cornwall coast and along the historic Jurassic Coast near Lyme Regis.

It is not clear how costly the green package will be to the Exchequer, but the rest of today's statement is likely to make for grim reading.

Mr Darling is expected to give more detail on how the Government plans to slash its record £175 billion a year borrowing by half within four years.

One of the most populist proposals is reported to be a super-tax on bankers' bonuses above a fixed rate, at a rate higher than the new 50 per cent band for earnings over £150,000 due to come into effect in April.

Teignbridge MP Richard Younger-Ross, a critic of the level of bonuses in the City, accused the Government of allowing public anger over the issue to "rumble on".

"At last they are now formulating plans for a windfall tax on banker's bumper bonuses. It's been a long time coming but I welcome the news."