Work to install one of Scottish Water’s largest solar panel projects to date, at a waste water treatment plant in Montrose, has unearthed a lost piece of military history.
Staff from Scottish Water Horizons and contractors Absolute Solar and Wind were working on the installation of the panels on land at the treatment plant when they discovered a preserved air raid shelter from World War 2.
Project manager Mari Davies, said: “Thankfully nothing hazardous was uncovered which meant we were able to carry on with the work.
“The treatment works also sits on part of what was RAF Montrose which is said to be haunted by the ghost of Lieutenant Desmond Arthur, a pilot who crashed there in 1913. There have been many sightings of him over the years, but luckily none of our contractors had any paranormal experiences.
“Ghosts aside, the installation went without a hitch, and the team were careful to work around the operational needs of the site, meaning we were able to work without interruption.”
“We collaborated closely with teams across Scottish Water to ensure the finished solar panels looked really smart. The site is visible to the public, so it was important that the visual impact of the scheme was taken into consideration.”
The project, Scottish Water Horizons’ largest to date, will offset around a fifth of the works’ energy consumption, generating around 240,000 kWh a year – enough to boil a kettle over 1.5 million times.”
The team are actively looking for new Scottish Water sites which could benefit from similar schemes (one is already set up nearby in Brechin) to help offset high energy use and reduce operational costs.
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