New ‘solar meadow’ plans close to village
A Perthshire village is set to be home to a new solar energy project.
Dundee Renewable Energy Society (DRES) is looking to develop a solar panel installation in partnership with The James Hutton Institute near Invergowrie.
The Invergowrie Solar Meadow, which will be situated on land north of the A90, will be funded by a share offer, where people can join the co-operative to invest in the project and receive a return on their investment.
Those behind the project say it will be a relatively small two-megawatt solar installation on land owned by The James Hutton Institute.
DRES says it will use the income generated from The Invergowrie Solar Meadow to support local community projects.
The project is expected to generate at least £10,000 annually which will be used to support local causes through a community benefit fund. The total community benefit over the 20-25 year lifetime of the solar meadow is projected to be over £700,000.
Once complete, it will supply approximately 27 per cent of The James Hutton Institute’s annual electricity needs and remove around seven per cent of its current total CO2 emissions.
An online information event will be held on Wednesday, September 15 to provide more information.
Richard McCready, DRES chair, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to generate renewable solar energy in partnership with The James Hutton Institute.
“Everyone has their part to play in reducing carbon emissions and the Invergowrie Solar Meadow is a real step forward. As a co-operative it’s important for the community to be at the heart of the project and we look forward to sharing how local people can get involved.”
Joshua Msika, sustainability coordinator at The James Hutton Institute, added: “This solar meadow project perfectly illustrates the ‘Just Transition’, bringing both climate and social benefits. It will provide us with zero-carbon electricity at an affordable price and in exchange, our electricity bill will fund community projects in our area while offering shareholders a reasonable return.”
Tickets for the free event can be booked at https://bit.ly/2V7dZLa or by emailing info@dres.coop