An elderly couple from Overijssel have been told they are too old to qualify for a subsidised loan to place solar panels on the roof of their home, the Telegraaf reports on Tuesday.

‘How can someone be too old for solar panels? I don’t plan on having them buried with me,’ 78-year-old Maarten Hillenius told the paper.

The couple received a letter from the local government fund SVn which administers the solar panel fund which stated: ‘You have reached the respectable ages of 77 and 78. Our credit rules mean we do not give customers over the age of 75 sustainability loans.’

The SVn told the Telegraaf that it regretted the bluntness of the letter and that the couple should have been told there was an upper age limit before applying.

However, pensioner lobby group ANBO says it plans to take the issue further. Hillenius, meanwhile, is pressing ahead with installing solar panels without the help of the SVn, the Telegraaf says.