Logie Coldstone Trust: Powering the Community in Logie Coldstone

The village hall in Logie Coldstone near Aboyne was built in 1897. A well-used local facility, it underwent a major refurbishment in 2013 when major roof repairs led to a comprehensive refurbishment with insulation, new windows, LED lighting and an air source heat pump being installed. The Logie Coldstone Trust committee opted to continue this sustainability journey with a plan to install solar panels and a battery system to further reduce bills and build resilience in a climate-friendly way.

The group was awarded £15,000 from the Vattenfall Unlock Our Future Fund in 2022 and secured match funding from SSEN Resilient Communities funding, CARES and the Marr Area Partnership to install a 16.15kW solar PV system with a 40.5kWh Tesla battery system. The panels are Sunpower Maxeon panels which are high-performance panels with a very long (40-year) warranty covering both performance and materials.

The installation was completed in February 2024 and the group is really pleased with how well it is operating. 

The installation of the batteries has really helped us to maximise our use of the energy we have generated, as often the energy is used at the hall in the evening. So far the system has supplied 71% of our total electricity use over the first three months of use. 40% of this has been used directly from the solar panels and 31% has been used indirectly from the batteries. So far over the three months of operation, we have generated 3.6MWh of electricity.

The group had to overcome various challenges to get the project to this stage. Securing the funding was “time consuming and at times complex. The Vattenfall funding process was one of the easiest to cope with and the flexibility was extremely helpful.”

Securing the building warrant also took time. Eventually, the group arranged for the SER certificate from a structural engineer which was able to satisfy concerns about the main hall roof. This could have been done earlier to accelerate the process. 

There were also a few issues raised by the fact the hall is on a three phase electricity system – this is helpful for the installation of larger solar systems but limits what can be run in a power cut and makes it harder to get a smart meter installed. 

The group also recommend checking your insurance details which will have to be amended to cover this type of project.

The installation itself went very smoothly and the group was impressed with the quality of work from the contractor chosen.

We have had a lot of interest in the system and have engaged in some events to share our experiences. We took part in an open doors day as part of the Climate Week North East 2024 event and we have also spoken at a Marr Area Partnership AGM meeting, sharing our experiences with many people. We have also been using the installation to bring attention to the climate crisis and encouraging people to take action through our community newsletter.

Read more about the Vattenfall Unlock Our Future Fund here