A 7MW solar farm on the Ochil Hills in Perthshire will provide free electricity for neighbouring Blackford Primary School, as well as part-powering Highland Spring’s production facility. The school currently uses oil for its central heating.
The 23 acre project from SSE Energy Solutions will supply up to a quarter of the Blackford facility’s electricity needs. Construction is due to start in the summer and be complete by early 2026.
The solar project is part of SSE’s Net Zero Acceleration Programme Plus, through which the Group is investing £20 billion in green energy projects by 2030.
Jim Fairlie, MSP for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, said, “Highland Spring is an important local employer which has done a power of work in recent years to decarbonise. I welcome this partnership between Highland Spring and SSE Energy Solutions, and the community benefit that it will bring both for the school and for the community through the EV chargers.”