Funding has been secured for plans to create new solar power centre on Duke Street in Glasgow.

Up to £940,000 has been awarded from the EU Horizon 2020 fund to help transform the council-owned car park into a facility featuring a huge canopy of solar panels.

The facility, which will be primarily used to power the car park and includes ten charging points for electric vehicles, will be powered by a 500kw battery and a sophisticated controller that will allow for storage and sharing of the energy generated within the district captured via the solar panels.

Overall the solar panel canopy, which will cover the equivalent of over 130 car parking spaces, is scheduled to be full operational by October 2019.

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The scheme is part of a wider initiative to develop a sustainable energy district along a section of George Street and Duke Street that involves Tennent's Brewery, University of Strathclyde, Scottish Power, Siemens, Transport Scotland, Wheatley Group and Glasgow City Council. Plans are also in place to erect up to seven intelligent LED lighting columns within the city centre that can also be used for electric vehicle charging.

Cllr Anna Richardson said: "This is an exciting and dynamic project that can take Glasgow closer to our goal of becoming the most sustainable city in Europe. Horizon 2020 funding is only ever awarded for projects that can demonstrate innovation that has the potential to be picked up and used elsewhere.

"We hope the Duke St scheme will eventually be replicated on car parks all across the city, but we also hope that other cities across Europe can learn from what's happening in Glasgow. Developing robust relationships between all the organisations involved will be the key to the success of the Duke Street car park project.

"It is far more efficient and cost effective to gather and deliver energy locally and this project can show us a way to tackle fuel poverty. Sustainable energy districts have the potential to transform how we power Glasgow."

(LM)