A major renewable energy project is now powering almost a third of the energy used by the Alloa Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW), helping drive down carbon emissions and bringing Scottish Water closer to its net zero targets.

The £1.3 million solar scheme, one of the largest installed at a Scottish Water site this year, features 1,728 ground-mounted solar panels at the Alloa facility. The system is expected to generate 0.95GWh of clean electricity annually, with the majority used directly on site. The remainder will be exported to the national grid and made available for local use.

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In total, the solar installation will provide 29% of the energy required to run the WWTW, saving approximately 141 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent every year — the same environmental benefit as eliminating 78 return flights from Glasgow to New York.

The project has been delivered by Scottish Water Horizons, the utility’s commercial subsidiary, in partnership with contractor R&A Group.

Murdo MacAulay, Project Manager at Scottish Water Horizons, said: "This is one of the largest solar schemes that we have led for Scottish Water this year and it will have a very significant impact on cutting operational carbon emissions at this site while continuing to provide this vital service to customers in the local area.

"We are continuing to ramp up the pace and size of our solar programme and in the past three years, Scottish Water has installed 14.4GWh of solar energy across its sites – up from a total of 9.6GWh in the previous 12 years – which is really positive."

The Alloa WWTW operates continuously to ensure environmental protection and water quality for thousands of residents in and around the town, making energy efficiency a high priority.