Scottish Water has unveiled its largest solar panel scheme to date, both in terms of size and investment.
A total of 4,800 photovoltaic (PV) panels have been installed at two adjacent borehole sites in Speyside at a cost of £1.2 million.
The PV scheme, which has taken around three months to complete, marks the biggest investment in this renewable technology by Scottish Water Horizons, a wholly owned subsidiary of Scottish Water.
The installation was carried out by contractor Absolute Solar and Wind and will see both sites generating a total of 1GWh of energy per annum, whilst saving 437 CO2eq tonnes of carbon every year.
It will also offset more than one fifth of the borehole sites’ electrical needs annually.
The PV panels installed on Scottish Water land will help provide power to pump water to the Badentinan water treatment works nearby.
Scottish Water said savings from the new installation will be passed on to customers to help keep bills down in the future.
Ian Piggott, project delivery manager at Scottish Water Horizons, said: “Absolute Solar and Wind installed 2,900 panels at the north borehole site and 1,900 at the south borehole. These are now in operation and will generate renewable energy long into the future.”
John Sammon, project manager at Scottish Water Horizons, added: “The PV panel scheme in Speyside is the largest we’ve undertaken to date, but it’s just one of many across Scotland that are already generating clean, renewable energy to help power our assets and keep customer bills down.
“As well as using solar energy, Scottish Water Horizons are also harnessing renewable energy from Scottish Water assets using different methods, including food waste recycling and recovering heat from waste water.
“Going forward, we’re committed to capturing the commercial opportunities that Scottish Water assets provide to help Scotland’s economy and environment thrive and improve.”
The announcement of the project’s completion coincides with Scotland’s Climate Week, which runs from 18 to 22 September.