A solar research and training facility could be built on a reclaimed landfill site along the Aberdeen coast.

Supported by AREG, Aberdeen City Council has submitted a bid to the Coastal Communities Fund for £500k towards the proposed Solar Project on the Ness Farm landfill site at Nigg.

If the plans are successful, the funding will be used to launch the first phase of the project, which would use solar panels to produce up to one megawatt of electricity.

The council and AREG have an aspiration to develop the solar energy resources of an area south of the city, linked to Torry. The power produced would be fed into the National Grid and then used to produce clean hydrogen for use in the city's developing hydrogen industry.

The proposed initiative would provide training in the solar energy industry and it is hoped the facility could provide opportunities to train local people in the new trades of solar panel installation and maintenance.

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It will also link to the emerging and developing hydrogen technologies in the city, which could in turn provide a number of training opportunities not only to the project, but to Aberdeen and the energy industry.

Council leader Barney Crockett said: "People don't appreciate that the North-east of Scotland is quite a good area for harnessing solar energy. I think it is terrific that we can use a site which has been soiled and get new use out of it.

"This is a very exciting, novel project and one in which Aberdeen can yet again lead the way on the renewable energy front.

"This is not just a solar energy project, it is a project which will not only link into the new hydrogen technologies being developed her, but also provide much-needed training opportunities and facilities, which will grow and diversify as the project develops.

"Aberdeen City Council has just launched its hydrogen strategy, which lays down the framework for the development and growth of a hydrogen economy and associated infrastructure in the city. The Nigg Solar Project fits with that strategy and our aspirations for the Aberdeen's future as a leading hydrogen city."

Plans for the project are at an early stage and the organisations are examining the feasibility of developing a project on the former landfill site. If the bid progresses to the second stage, a detailed business case will be developed.

(JP/IT)