Renewable energy company Absolute Solar and Wind has installed 96 2kW solar power systems on three sheltered housing developments in the West of Scotland.
The project was built in conjunction with Keepmoat, a social housing service provider, and housing support agency Link Group. The tenants of Ben Lui Place and Glen Lyon Court, in Cumbernauld, and Glen Park Road, in Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire, will be able to use the green energy to power their properties and also significantly reduce their monthly utility bills.
Colin Culross, director of development and asset management at Link, said: “Although the original project was somewhat compromised by the government’s cut in Feed in Tariff (FiT), a downward pressure on material costs revealed the asset investment of almost £320,000 provided a capital cost payback in 11 years.
“This provides a financial return for Link beyond this period while maintaining savings for Link’s tenants providing free electricity to the anticipated value of £150 per year.”
The 96 systems combined, installed over three weeks, will generate an estimated 160,000 hours of green electricity per year, and tenants could see their household electricity bills drop by 50%.
Alex McDonald, new business director at Absolute Solar and Wind, said: “We were thrilled to work with Keepmoat and Link on this innovative project, which will play a major part in helping to tackle fuel poverty for some of the most vulnerable in our communities.
“We had a team of 10 working on this project and we are pleased to be finished ahead of schedule. The feedback has been extremely positive from tenants, Link and Keepmoat.”