Scotland’s largest rooftop solar panel installation at Glasgow's Kelvin Hall facing delays

Scotland’s largest rooftop solar panel installation on Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall has faced delays.

Workers are currently in the process of adding 1,000 photovoltaic panels to Kelvin Hall in the west end.

There are hopes the job at the public building will be finished in May after work started in January. It was originally to be completed by February.

Once finished it will join seven other council buildings already generating energy from the sun after being completed in November.

A council paper said: “Installation of the solar PV array at Kelvin Hall commenced on January 13, 2025.

“Due to the size and complexity of the Kelvin Hall, with the installation expected to be the largest roof-mounted solar array in Scotland, design and installation access requirements have resulted in a delay in the original expected completion date of end of February.”

It added: “However, work with the contractors and all building stakeholders has resulted in a revised expected completion date for this installation of May 23, 2025.”

Photovoltaic panels have already been installed at day care centres in Mallaig Road and Muirhead Road as well as Dalmarnock, Camstradden, Castleton Haghill and St Bernard’s primary schools.

It is part of Glasgow City Council’s solar panel phase one roll out.

But they are not the first buildings to get solar panels with 33 roof mounted installations operated by the council.

There are plans to potentially roll out the renewable energy projects to another 38 local authority owned properties, which would equate to £830,000 in annual electricity savings but would cost £8.5m to install.

A progress update on phase one solar power projects is to be presented to the council’s Net Zero and Climate Progress Monitoring City Policy Committee next week.

A paper for the meeting said the council’s carbon management plan (CMP3) “sets a target to reduce direct emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2030.”

It added: “How the council heats and powers its buildings (with electricity, gas and oil) accounts for the majority of measurable emissions (74 per cent). Therefore, reducing the amount of energy consumed and decarbonising the energy used by the Council estate is a key focus for the CMP3.”

Pointing out benefits of switching to solar panels, it said: “Solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation is a proven renewable energy technology that, when retrofitted on the Council estate, delivers annual reductions in emissions associated with the Council’s electricity usage.

“It also reduces the Council’s overall energy costs through provision of free energy following return on investment, and protects the council from energy price fluctuations.”