News

The First Public Exhibition to be held for Kirknewton Solar & BESS

23 May 2025

May 2025

The first public exhibition will take place on Thursday 12^th June 2025, at Kirknewton Village Hall, from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

Attendees will have the opportunity to review the design and see how the project plans. The exhibition will show how environmental assessments and surveys, including visual impact and noise are collated for the public to review at the second exhibition.

BLC Energy will also put forward plans to allocate 50% of the Community Benefit Fund directly to residents living 2km from the project centre. The initiative is being designed in partnership with Octopus Renewable Infrastructure Trust.

Neil Lindsay, Project Lead for Kirknewton Solar and Managing Director of BLC Energy, commented:

“We are excited to share our progress on the Kirknewton Solar and BESS project with the community and to showcase how local feedback has helped to shape the final plans.

“This project promises to deliver clean, green energy, helping to achieve Scotland’s targets of 4-6GW of solar deployed by 2030.

“What’s more, we’re taking a pioneering approach to the Community Benefit Fund, which will see local residents directly benefit from the development, in addition to community initiatives and projects.

“We look forward to engaging with residents and answering any questions they may have at our upcoming exhibition.”

The Kirknewton Solar & BESS project will feature approximately c83,000 solar panels and up to 40MW energy storage capacity. If approved, the development will generate enough electricity to power over 12,500 homes annually and reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 740,000 tons of CO2 equivalent over its operational lifespan, compared to traditional fossil fuel-based energy generation.

For more information, please visit the Kirknewton website (link)