Solar farm plans for an Angus hospital site have been lodged in a move towards hitting a carbon-neutral target.
The Stracathro feasibility project will involve an array of nearly 900 solar panels on the hospital site near Brechin.
Although relatively small in scale, NHS Tayside has said it is one of a range of projects in the early stages of consideration across the region.
The solar panels would generate almost 300,000 kilowatts of energy and are to be located on land adjacent to the hospital’s Susan Carnegie Centre and opposite the main Stracathro regional treatment centre facilities.
Floodlights, fencing and other infrastructure form part of the proposal.
NHS Tayside said the solar plan, which has recently been lodged with Angus Council and is yet to be determined, is in its early stages.
A spokesperson for NHS Tayside said: “This planning application is to inform us about the feasibility of a project which is at a very early conceptual stage.
“It is one of a large number of different solutions we will be considering over the next few months and years as part of NHS Tayside’s efforts to meet the Scottish Government’s target of being zero carbon compliant by 2045.
The spokesperson added: “Dundee is one of the sunniest cities in Scotland and we are looking at ways to harness that for future generations.”
In a consultee response, Highlands and Islands Airports Limited said: “Our calculations show that, at the given position and height, this development would not impact the safeguarding criteria for Dundee airport. Therefore, Highlands and Islands Airports Limited would have no objections to the proposal.”
Aberdeenshire Archaeology Services, which delivers provision for Angus Council, said it is satisfied no archaeological mitigation measures are required for the project.
Last month, Scottish Power Renewables received the go-ahead for the East Ballochy project which will see 140,000 photovoltaic panels sited on farmland a few miles from Montrose Basin.
The applicants said the scheme is aimed at supplying a private end user, yet to be confirmed but believed to be pharmaceutical giant GSK since the plan also included approval for a cable to run from the solar site to the edge of their plant in Montrose.
That scheme will deliver sufficient energy to power the equivalent of 12,000 homes.
A 19MW solar farm had been approved for the same farmland in 2014 but was never progressed.
