500 solar panels help power national headquarters

To mark Scotland's Climate Week 2026, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is highlighting progress to transform an empty piece land at its national headquarters in Cambuslang into a solar field.

More than 500 photovoltaic panels, which convert sunlight directly into electricity to power the site, were installed earlier this year.

The panels will help reduce the site’s carbon footprint and energy costs.

The system has a life expectancy of 25 years and the investment of £450,000 to install the panels is likely to be recovered in approximately eight years.

David Watters is the energy manager at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) who led on the project. He said: "The installation of 524 solar panels started in February 2026 and was completed in April.

"We used a spare bit of land at our headquarters that wasn't suitable for building on otherwise and it has worked out really well.

"Over the summer we've had a lot of sunshine and it has been generating more electricity than we're using. When this happens, we export zero carbon electricity back to the grid."

SFRS' national headquarters has a corporate office building, as well as a large training area for firefighters.

Grid electricity use at the site in Cambuslang has been reduced by more than a third compared to the same time last year because the solar panels are directly powering the site.

Sarah O'Donnell, is SFRS' Deputy Chief Officer responsible for providing leadership and strategic direction across corporate services. She said: "We are really pleased with the outcomes of the project at this early stage.

"It helps our organisation to not only bring down energy costs but to reduce carbon emissions at the same time.

"The solar panels are expected to reduce emissions by more than 70 tonnes annually, supporting our overall carbon reduction aims as set out in our carbon management plan."