COMBINED HEAT & POWER


PURE WATER, CLEAN ENERGY


In addition to providing power for Highland


Spring’s manufacturing site, a new solar farm will


help a local primary school move from oil central heating to electric


H


ighland Spring bottles approximately 550 million litres of water a year, producing


brands including Highland Spring, Hydr8, and a range of private label flavoured and unflavoured waters for some of the UK’s major supermarkets and food service retailers. Harnessing the renewable energy transition is a key part of the company’s journey towards a zero-carbon future. As such, a 7-megawatt solar array is being built


on the Ochil Hills by SSE Energy to not only power the manufacturing sites and offices of Highland Spring in Blackford village, but to help the primary school move from oil central heating to electric. Covering 23-acres and due to be fully operational


this year, the solar farm will supply up to a quarter of the electricity needs of the Blackford facility. The solar project is part of SSE’s Net Zero Acceleration Programme Plus, through which the Group is investing £20bn in green energy projects by 2030.


FREE PRIMARY SCHOOL ELECTRICITY In addition to powering the company’s operations, the project will benefit the local community through a low-impact design and free electricity for Blackford Primary School, which currently uses oil for its central heating, allowing it to decarbonise. Commenting on this, Margaret McMillan, head teacher at Blackford Primary School, said: “The solar farm is a major development for the local community and on behalf of the entire school I am delighted that we will benefit in a tangible way from Highland Spring’s focus on renewable, sustainable energy.” Simon Oldham, managing director, Highland


Spring Group, added: “Environmental and social responsibility have always been at the heart of our purpose and this project not only positively supports our sustainability strategy but our good neighbour programme too.”


DECARBONISATION In recent years Highland Spring Group has accelerated its business decarbonisation roadmap, delivering projects and initiatives in


36


collaboration with customers and partners which reduce emissions across their entire operations from ‘source to shelf’. It was one of the first companies in the UK to have its science-based net-zero target approved by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) under the Net-Zero Standard and recently attained a B score from the Climate Disclosure Project (CDP) for its work to address climate change. Stuart Batty, SSE Energy Solutions senior project


development, said: “This partnership with Highland Spring marks a key step in Scotland’s renewable energy journey. By uniting our expertise with Highland Spring’s sustainable leadership, the 7MW solar project is a fantastic example of local power in action, decarbonising businesses and enhancing energy resilience for the community.” Adding to this, Jim Fairlie, MSP for Perthshire


South and Kinross-shire, said: “Highland Spring is an important local employer which has done a power of work in recent years to decarbonise.


I welcome this partnership between Highland Spring and SSE Energy Solutions, and the community benefit that it will bring both for the school and for the community through the EV chargers.” Councillor Liz Barrett, Perth and Kinross


Council’s climate change and sustainability vice- convener, commented: “The impact of climate change means we all need to consider renewable sources wherever we can as the way forward for energy generation. This is a major project for the Blackford area and I warmly welcome the valuable support to local life that Highland Spring and SSE will provide through the solar farm, both in EV chargers for community use and, significantly, a free electricity supply for Blackford Primary School.”


SSE Energy Solutions www.sseenergysolutions.co.uk Highland Spring Group www.highlandspring.com


Stuart Batty, senior project development manager for SSE Energy Solutions; Simon Oldham, managing director of Highland Spring Group; Cllr Liz Barrett, Perth and Kinross Council; Jim Fairlie MSP


ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS - Summer 2026 www.essmag.co.uk


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