QMU plans solar panels to generate a quarter of campus electricity
Queen Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh has submitted a planning application for a new solar energy scheme at its Musselburgh campus which could generate around 25% of the University’s annual electricity needs and contribute to environmental sustainability.
If the application is approved, this would enable installation of solar panels on a small area of low-grade grassland at the campus that was previously earmarked for more buildings.
As part of a wider programme of sustainability initiatives, QMU is working with renewable energy specialists Locogen to develop the scheme. Feasibility modelling by Locogen indicates that the ground-mounted panels, together with a roof-mounted installation, could generate around 1.08 million kilowatt hours (1.08 GWh) of electricity each year.
The University expects the scheme to reduce its reliance on grid-supplied electricity and provide greater resilience against fluctuations in energy prices.
The proposals also support QMU’s Climate Change and Net-Zero Strategy, which sets a target for net-zero operations by 2044, alongside interim emissions reductions of 42% by 2030 and 63% by 2038.
This proposal is a practical way to make better use of a small area of land that is currently unused, while supporting the University’s wider plans for a more sustainable campus. We’ve also looked carefully at how the development can sit within the existing landscape, with new planting and species-rich grassland helping to improve the area around the panels. It’s important that projects like this work well for the campus as a whole, and we believe the proposal strikes a good balance between generating renewable energy and maintaining the character and biodiversity of the surrounding area.
Covering around 1.18 hectares, the ground-mounted panels would occupy a small part of the wider campus and would sit within the existing landscape, with the panels elevated off the ground, leaving green space below, reaching a maximum height of three metres.
Plans for the site also include improvements to the land around and beneath the panels, with species-rich grassland and new native hedgerow planting proposed. This will provide additional habitat and shelter for wildlife, as well as helping to screen the panels from view. Existing mature trees and landscape features around parts of the site will be retained.
Minimal disruption is expected to the wider use of the campus. Once construction is complete, there will be almost no additional traffic, while during construction contractors will use existing access routes. Existing walking and cycling routes on and around campus would remain accessible both during and after construction. There would be no additional lighting or cameras once the solar development is operational.
If planning permission is granted, construction is expected to take around four months, with the proposed solar development having an operational lifespan of around 40 years.
The full planning application, including the environmental and technical assessments undertaken for the proposal, is available through East Lothian Council’s planning portal.
