Solar project supports climate education for senior adults

Two adult day care centres in Scotland’s biggest city are set to benefit from a solar scheme driven by Glasgow City Council.

The project will see solar array installed at eight council-owned sites across the city, including Mallaig Road Day Care Centre and Muirhead Road Day Care Centre. These centres offer support for older adults and those living with dementia, helping them with important aspects of social, health, nutrition and daily living. 

We were on site to visit Mallaig Road Day Care Centre and talk with stakeholders about the works, and how the project is being used to educate users on the impacts of climate change and the role of renewable energy sources in the move away from fossil fuels. 

Ann Graham, manager at Mallaig Road Day Care, said: “This has brought a real lot of interest to our age group, which is an average of about 75 to 90 year olds.

“Just the fact the solar panels have come into this building has really opened up a real discussion about what solar panels are, why we’re having them, and we’re having quite a lot of fun over looking at these topics and what that would mean for them.”

The array is set to be installed on the roof which overlooks the centres garden, with the adults using centre services now actively discussing what they can do in their own lives to lower their own environmental footprints and tackle the climate crisis.

Ann added: “They’re really interested as to what this looks like, not just for us as a building, but for them, themselves, individually.”

Watch our short video to hear Ann talk more about the centre and the works below.

Zoe Hurst, programme coordinator at Salix, said: “We’re delighted to work with Glasgow City Council on this project.

“Adult day care centres are facilities that play a particularly important role for older adults as well as a vulnerable portion of our population, and to hear that the installation is educating them on the topic, as well as generating renewable energy to help to lower their energy bills, is highly inspirational.” 

About the project

The renewable energy project will see solar arrays installed at eight council-owned sites across the city.

Sites set to benefit from the works are: Dalmarnock Primary School, Haghill Primary School, St Bernards Primary School, Camstradden Primary School, Castleton Primary School, Muirhead Road Day Care Centre, Mallaig Road Day Care Centre and Kelvin Hall.

The £1,044,605 project will see solar panels installed on the roofs of all buildings by autumn this year. Once functional, it is expected to save the council £183,064 on their annual energy bills and 158.41 tonnes of carbon emissions every year. A carbon emission reduction of this size is roughly equivalent to the average emissions of 19.5 UK households. 

To finance the works, the council were awarded receive £522,302 in funding through the Salix Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme (SEELS), which is delivered by us on behalf of the Scottish Government. The scheme offers zero-interest loans to the public sector to facilitate energy efficiency improvement projects that result in financial and carbon savings and contribute towards achieving their net zero aspirations.