FOI – 2025-000168 Sustainability and Solar Panels (HTML)

Date received – 09 June 25 | Date responded – 24 June 25

Request

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would like to request information regarding your current and planned usage of solar energy across your estate. Please could you provide responses to the following questions:

1. Governance & Responsibility

Do you have a dedicated person or team responsible for solar energy investment and/or sustainability energy initiatives within your organisation?

If so, please provide their role/title (personal names are not required).

2. Current Solar Deployment

How many solar panel installations (PV systems) do you currently operate across your estate?

What is the total installed capacity of these systems (in kWp)?

What proportion of your organisation's energy usage is currently provided by solar generation?

3. Investment & Strategy

Does your organisation have a documented investment strategy for expanding the use of solar panels or increasing on-site renewable energy generation?

If so, please provide a copy of or link to the relevant strategy or plan (or summarise key points if not published).

4. Solar and Net Zero Commitments

Does solar energy form part of your organisation's Net Zero / Carbon Reduction Strategy?

If yes, how is progress against this strategy communicated to the public (e.g. via website, reports, dashboards, etc.)?

5. Future Plans

Are there any planned solar panel projects or expansions within the next 3 years? If yes, please provide high-level details (e.g. number of sites, scale of deployment, approximate timescales).

Have you conducted any feasibility studies on increasing solar capacity in the past 3 years? If so, can these be shared?

6. Procurement & Partnerships

Does your organisation currently use any third-party companies or frameworks to deliver solar energy solutions or manage installations? If yes, which ones?

Are there any upcoming procurement exercises planned relating to solar energy or wider renewable energy solutions?

7. Battery Storage

Do you currently use battery storage alongside your solar panels?

Are there plans to invest in battery storage in future?

8. Funding

Has your organisation accessed or applied for any external funding to support solar energy projects (e.g. SALIX, Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, LEP funding)?

9. Barriers

What are the main barriers your organisation faces to further adoption of solar energy (e.g. funding, planning restrictions, roof suitability, internal resource)?

Response

We have now completed the search of our records and can provide you with the following information:

Governance & Responsibility

Do you have a dedicated person or team responsible for solar energy investment and/or sustainability energy initiatives within your organisation?

Yes, NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) has 3 sustainability teams that are responsible for solar energy.

If so, please provide their role/title (personal names are not required).

Within these sustainability teams we have 2x Sustainability Managers, 1x Sustainability & Resilience Lead, 1x Sustainability Support Officer, 1x Head of Energy, 1x Energy Manager, 2x Senior Engineers, 1x Sustainability Manager (Energy Transition), 1x Category Manager and 1x Commodity Manager.

Current Solar Deployment

How many solar panel installations (PV systems) do you currently operate across your estate?

The NSS estate currently has 2 PV Arrays.

What is the total installed capacity of these systems (in kWp)?

The total capacity of these systems is 210.08 kWp.

What proportion of your organisation's energy usage is currently provided by solar generation?

The percentage of NSS’ energy use that is provided by solar energy is 1.2%.

Investment & Strategy

Does your organisation have a documented investment strategy for expanding the use of solar panels or increasing on-site renewable energy generation?

Yes, NSS have the Environmental and Sustainability strategy that has the primary objective of achieving net zero by 2040 or earlier.

If so, please provide a copy of or link to the relevant strategy or plan (or summarise key points if not published).

Please see the following link to this strategy which is published on NSS website - National Services Scotland Environmental and Sustainability Strategy 2022 - 2040

Solar and Net Zero Commitments

Does solar energy form part of your organisation's Net Zero / Carbon Reduction Strategy?

Yes, as stated in our answer to question 3 above.

If yes, how is progress against this strategy communicated to the public (e.g. via website, reports, dashboards, etc.)?

NSS performance to net zero is recorded through the Sustainable Scotland Network via the Public Bodies Climate Change Duties report.

Future Plans

Are there any planned solar panel projects or expansions within the next 3 years? If yes, please provide high-level details (e.g. number of sites, scale of deployment, approximate timescales).

No, there is currently nothing planned for solar projects or expansions within the next 3 years.

Have you conducted any feasibility studies on increasing solar capacity in the past 3 years? If so, can these be shared?

No, NSS has not conducted any feasibility studies on increasing solar capacity in the last 3 years.

Procurement & Partnerships

Does your organisation currently use any third-party companies or frameworks to deliver solar energy solutions or manage installations? If yes, which ones?

Yes, NSS currently use Public-Private Partnership (PPP)/Private Finance Initiative (PFI).

Are there any upcoming procurement exercises planned relating to solar energy or wider renewable energy solutions?

Yes, NSS is at the very early stages of exploring the opportunity of a power purchase agreement (PPA).

Battery Storage

Do you currently use battery storage alongside your solar panels?

NSS currently has no solar battery storage.

Are there plans to invest in battery storage in future?

Yes, NSS is at the very early stages of exploring the opportunity of a power purchase agreement (PPA).

Funding

Has your organisation accessed or applied for any external funding to support solar energy projects (e.g. SALIX, Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, LEP funding)?

Yes, NSS regularly reviews funding opportunities but, all funding to date has been through Scottish Government funding.

Barriers

What are the main barriers your organisation faces to further adoption of solar energy (e.g. funding, planning restrictions, roof suitability, internal resource)?

The main barriers to further adoption of solar energy are funding, future estates planning and complex PPP/PFI contracts.

I trust you will find the information of assistance and if you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of how we have dealt with your request, you can make representations to us asking us to review the handling of your request.

If you require any further information, please contact the Associate Director Governance and Board Services (Board Secretary) within 40 working days of the date of this correspondence.

Contact

Address

If after a review you are still unhappy, you also have the right to apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner, who can be contacted at Kinburn Castle, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS, or via their application form.

National Services Scotland (NSS) is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. You can view all FOI responses within our FOI Publications repository.