A £1 million solar project has been completed at a Scottish Water Horizons facility in Cowdenbeath, linked to Levenmouth Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) in Fife.

The scheme saw over 1,700 ground-mounted solar panels installed at the site, which safely receives and stores commercial liquid waste before it is transferred to Levenmouth WWTW for treatment and disposal.

The system is expected to generate 0.53 GWh of green electricity annually. Around 60% of this will be used on site, meeting 29% of the facility’s energy needs and reducing operating costs, while the remaining 40% will be exported to the grid.

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Designed to deliver both environmental and financial value, the installation is projected to provide savings for more than 30 years, offering resilience against fluctuating electricity prices. It will also cut approximately 109 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent each year — equivalent to flying from Edinburgh to New York and back 222 times — supporting Scottish Water’s goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2040.

The project was led by Scottish Water Horizons, the utility's commercial subsidiary, and delivered by renewable specialists Absolute Solar and Wind.

Murdo MacAulay, project manager at Scottish Water Horizons, said: "This site handles large volumes of liquid waste which we store and release safely to ensure full environmental compliance.

"It is great to see this solar scheme in operation at the site now, generating green energy and reducing the carbon associated with managing commercial and run-off waste.

"We continue to deliver solar schemes at Scottish Water sites across the country as we focus on achieving our net zero target by 2040, which we are currently on track to achieve. Another important driver for these projects is reducing Scottish Water’s operating costs."