Major solar project completed at iconic Glasgow venue

All images credit Vital Energi.  

• New solar array on Glasgow's Kelvin Hall hailed as "largest on a building of its type" in Scotland  
• Grade B listed building has hosted concerts including Elton John and used to be a transport museum
• Now home to community sport and culture hubs and a professional TV and film studio
• Upgrades received £500,000 through the Scottish Government’s Salix Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme

"We think it's the largest array in Scotland on a building of its type, so there's definitely a real sense of Glasgow being at the vanguard of this."  

Councillor Angus Millar, climate convener for Glasgow City Council, describes the major new array of solar panels on top of Glasgow’s iconic Kelvin Hall ahead of its centenary in 2027.  

The venue has hosted major music concerts, international athletics and was even once home to the city’s transport museum.  It's now home to sport and culture community hubs and a professional film and television studio.

The council received a share of more than £500,000 through the Scottish Government’s Salix Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme (SEELS), which - as well as the Kelvin Hall - went towards projects at five primary schools and two adult day care centres. 

"The Kelvin Hall has such a rich and varied history with lots of different uses that we're still exploring for parts of the building.  We’ve risen to the challenge to retrofit, make energy efficiency savings and climate-proof this building for the future - so it’s a really good symbol of the action that we're taking as a city," Cllr Millar added.

 "We have ambitious aspirations and targets in terms of becoming a net zero carbon city.  

"Decarbonising our buildings and maximising renewables - especially in council buildings - is vital and the funding has allowed us to expand its reach and what we're able to allocate," Cllr Millar said.   

The project is estimated to make annual carbon savings of 146.54 tCO2 – the same as almost 4,000 trips from Glasgow to London in a petrol car*.  

In total, the project cost around £1 million pounds, with more than half coming from the Salix Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme, which our teams at Salix deliver on behalf of the Scottish Government.

This helped to cover energy efficiency upgrades across the Kelvin Hall, Muirhead Road and Malaig Road Daycare Centres and Dalmarnock, Craghill, St Bernard’s, Camstradden and Castleton Primary Schools. 

Cllr Millar added: “We’ve been able to effectively double the finance available to deploy renewables and solar for the first phase of our programme.  

"We would probably be further from where we need to be without that funding. 

“It's a really good model for local authorities to be able to buy into and accelerate progress in terms of energy efficiency.”

Elton John, the Kinks and Ella Fitzgerald are among the pop royalty to have performed at the Kelvin Hall over the years.  

"One of the major selling points for people and events coming to Glasgow is our city’s sustainability ambitions and credentials across a range of venues and hosting events from conferences to culture.  

"Those sustainability and climate credentials are certainly a plus when it comes to marketing Glasgow to all different types of audiences."  

The project completion also fittingly comes ahead of Glasgow hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games, with the Kelvin Hall having previously hosted athletics events including the European Indoor Championships.  

It continues to be a multi-sport community venue where locals enjoy badminton, basketball, five-a-side-football and even dance and martial arts.   

World leaders including then US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were among those who gathered in Glasgow for the COP26 summit.  

Other grandees in attendance ranging from activists to royalty included King Charles III, Bill Gates, Greta Thunberg and Sir David Attenborough.  

Cllr Millar called the conference "a major milestone that focused a lot of people's attention in Glasgow on the climate agenda."  

“I think the climate emergency is very much one of the key challenges of our times and there is a great degree of popular understanding in Glasgow about the need to be more sustainable, to transition our economy and our society to new ways of working that are more conscious of the environmental and climate impacts of our day-to-day lives and of industry.  

"Although people understand the need for that climate action, it can sometimes be quite difficult to communicate the solutions.  

"I think people now understand the importance of moving to more renewable sources of energy and maximising energy efficiency in buildings, so they’re really behind our solar PV program.  

"Decarbonising the council estate is very a key strand of our climate ambitions. We are already in the stages of planning a further phase of deployment.  

"This phase has been really successful and we now want to go even further."

Vicky Fisher, our client relationship manager who supports the council, said: "It’s a great privilege working with our partners on the Kelvin Hall.  It’s an extremely well-used and popular venue and we’re delighted to be part of Glasgow’s innovation as it preserves important buildings for generations to come.  

"We’re glad the people who use and enjoy the day care centres can make the most of a more energy efficient and comfortable environment to enjoy their activities.  Similarly, we’re proud to play a role in helping modernise schools for both pupils and teachers to contribute towards a positive learning experience and environment."

*Carbon calculations have been generated through a tool created by our in-house carbon and technical experts. The intention is to provide carbon savings estimates to aid with a common understanding of emission data and statistics. These estimates are approximate and it is not recommended to use this tool for formal carbon emissions analysis. The tool uses UK government conversation factors alongside emissions estimates sourced from various studies, but it is possible a margin of error may exist. For more information about the formulas and methodology used in this tool, please contact us at [email protected]. E&OE.