A £0.6m project to install over 886 solar panels has been completed at a wastewater treatment works in East Ayrshire, supporting Scottish Water’s pledge to reach net zero emissions by 2040.

The site, located in Cumnock, East Ayrshire, has been fitted out with a combination of ground and roof-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, helping to lower the carbon footprint of wastewater services in the surrounding areas.

FES Group was delighted to be awarded the contract as Principal Contractor for the design and build of this Solar PV Farm via a competitive tendering process.

As Principal Contractor, FES Group was responsible for all site operations, including set up, site rules, traffic management and welfare etc. as detailed in the Construction Phase Plan. This detailed plan ensured that all works were delivered safely and with minimum disruption to the day-to-day operations of the Wastewater Treatment Works.

Project Description

Approx. 50% of the scheme was roof-mounted, installed on the roof of the Motor Control Centre (MCC) and the other 50% was ground mounted to the northern end of the site.  Upon completion of the installation the scheme was connected into an existing distribution board within the MCC.

Sustainability

The Solar PV farm will:

• Offset around 33 per cent of the electricity required to operate the facility
• generate 0.4 GWh of energy a year – that’s equivalent to the amount of energy needed to boil around 1.8 million kettles
• save around 97 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent tonnes per year

Client Feedback

“Overall, I was satisfied with the FES approach to the Cumnock PV project. The site was well run with H&S clearly being a priority. While there were challenges through the project, these were well managed, and solutions quickly identified.

 I look forward to working with the FES team again to deliver another quality project.”

Pat Stakim, Project Manager, Scottish Water