Moray Council has announced plans to investigate investing in solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to produce electricity from its buildings and reduce carbon emissions.

Starting with Elgin Library, HQ Annexe and Ashgrove Depot, the local authority could generate annual energy savings of around £40,000 with an initial spend of £250,000.

The potential is for the PV to be large enough for the majority of the electricity generated to be used on site. There is also the potential to expand the PV network across other council buildings in future if they're suitable.

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The move could be a spend to save measure and further assessments will be carried out to make sure any savings generated are worth the cost.

Also approved was a switch to LED lighting in council buildings. Starting with HQ, Annexe and Ashgrove depot the phasing out of fluorescent light bulbs and upgrading to LED could save around £600,000 a year as well as contribute to energy efficiency.

The council spent £3.5m on electricity across its estate in 2023/24. The investment of £4.6m in the first phase of upgrades will also improve working conditions for staff and help the council’s progression to net zero.