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Glasgow raises £1m for solar energy projects
Investors were able to pledge as little as £5 to the scheme which will be used by the sustainability team for solar energy projects on city council buildings.
At a glance
Who: Glasgow City Council; Abundance.
What: Glasgow’s community municipal climate action investment scheme, managed on behalf of the council by ethical investment platform, Abundance, has raised £1m for solar energy projects on city council buildings.
Why: The scheme is designed to support the council’s drive to decarbonise the energy consumed in council-owned buildings. Installing solar panels will eventually provide the buildings with almost two decades of free electricity.
When: With the funding already available, the council wants to move to implementing new solar installations as quickly as possible. A second opportunity for community municipal investment in Glasgow is due to open in March 2026.
Glasgow’s community municipal climate action investment scheme has raised £1m for solar energy projects on city council buildings.
The initiative, managed on behalf of the council by ethical investment platform, Abundance, was fully subscribed in advance of the deadline for pledges to be made.
Reducing carbon emissions
Investors were able to pledge as little as £5 to the scheme that will provide 4 per cent interest a year for a five-year period. Community municipal investment has proven to be successful in other parts of the UK with 18 local authorities previously raising over £24m for a range of projects intended to reduce carbon emissions.
The £1m fund has already been drawn down from Abundance and is now available for the council’s sustainability team to invest in solar projects. Last year, the council completed the roll-out of 1700 solar panels on the roof tops of public buildings, including the Kelvin Hall, and a further 36 buildings have already been identified as places where solar power can be installed.
“Using innovative financial schemes such as community municipal investment will play a vital role in Glasgow’s plans to become a net zero city”
“This is great news and shows the support that exists for acting on climate change,” said councillor Angus Millar, city convener for climate. “This is the first time an investment opportunity like this has been made available in Scotland and we wanted to attract small investors into the scheme.
“There’s been a positive response from Glasgow residents to this approach to securing funding and hopefully that’s something we can build on.
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“The funding that’s been raised will make a big difference to our efforts to decarbonise the energy consumed in council-owned buildings. Installing solar panels will also eventually provide these buildings with almost two decades of free electricity.
"We have already received the finance from Abundance and we want to move to implementing new solar installations as quickly as possible. Using innovative financial schemes such as community municipal investment will play a vital role in Glasgow’s plans to become a net zero city.”
A second opportunity for community municipal investment in Glasgow is due to open in March 2026 and will aim to provide £1m in financial backing for projects aimed at enhancing greening and sustainability around school and care settings.
The 1700 recently added to eight council buildings cost £1m to install and are expected to generate 700,000KWh of electricity every year, saving around £183,000 in energy costs every year. The investment is expected to be paid off in six to seven years.
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How does community municipal investment support Glasgow's solar energy projects?What are the expected carbon emission reductions from Glasgow's solar installations?How will solar panels provide nearly two decades of free electricity?What role does Abundance play in managing Glasgow's investment scheme?How will future investments enhance greening around schools and care settings?climate actionClimate change/ResilienceEnergy & EnvironmentGlasgowGovernance and CitizeninclusivityMadridMunicipal buildingsPeople and Skillssolar powerurban space
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