Scottish Green Public Sector Estate Decarbonisation Scheme Progress Report

Projects Completed in 2025/26

Project Title: BE-ST Energy Efficiency and Clean Heating

Project Organisation: Edinburgh Napier University

Technology Type(s): External Cladding, Floor Insulation, Roof Insulation, Double Glazing, MVHR, Lighting Controls, Internal Wall Insulation, Solar PV, ASHP

Location(s): BE-ST Accelerator Lab, Hamilton

Phase: 1

Grant Value: £1,241,966

Project Description:

Built Environment – Smarter Transformation (BE-ST) is an innovation centre hosted by Edinburgh Napier University, and its Accelerator Lab in Hamilton is a unique centre of excellence which hosts a national retrofit academy, skills academy and outreach programmes. The building was previously heated with a gas-based polluting heating system, however the Scottish Government provided capital grant funding for the organisation to remove this and replace it with an ASHP as part of a retrofit to achieve the Net Zero Public Sector Building Standard and the Passivhaus Institute’s EnerPHit Standard. The funding also supported various fabric upgrades to the building, a sustainable innovative curtain wall system, an efficient lighting control system, MVHR and Solar PV. This retrofit will not only act as a test bed for the wider Edinburgh Napier University estate but will provide a living case study for built environment stakeholders in Scotland to visit, learn from and replicate. It is predicted this project will see annual energy consumption savings of 253,957kWh and annual savings of 41.47 tonnes of CO2 per annum.

Project Title: Prestwick Swimming Pool Energy Efficiency

Project Organisation: South Ayrshire Council

Technology Type(s): Roof Insulation, Ultrasonic Humidifiers, External Wall Insulation, BEMS, Solar PV

Location(s): Prestwick Swimming Pool, Prestwick

Phase: 1

Grant Value: £720,960

Project Description:

The Scottish Government provided capital funding for South Ayrshire Council to undertake an energy efficiency retrofit project at Prestwick Swimming Pool. This project upgraded the building fabric through the installation of new roof and cavity wall insulation. The funding also supported the Council to install a new MVHR unit which will improve building ventilation and maximise heat recovery energy savings, as well as a new Solar PV system fitted to the roof space of the building to generate renewable energy. It is predicted this project will see annual energy consumption savings of 173,483kWh and annual savings of 26.43 tonnes of CO2 per annum.

Project Title: King’s Buildings Campus Energy Efficiency and Clean Heating

Project Organisation: University of Edinburgh

Technology Type(s): WSHP, Fume Cupboard Ventilation, VSD, Heating Pipework Insulation, Double Glazing, Roof Insulation

Location(s): James Clerk Maxwell Building, Christina Miller Building, Grant House Accommodation, Turner House Accommodation

Phase: 1

Grant Value: £2,079,459

Project Description:

This project reduces heat demand in the James Clerk Maxwell, Christina Miller, Grant House and Turner House buildings on the University of Edinburgh’s King’s Buildings Campus. The Scottish Government provided the organisation with capital grant funding to undertake energy efficiency works at each of the sites and install a heat recovery heat pump which will take rejected heat from a data centre and upgrade it for use in the King’s Buildings Heat Network. This project is the first step towards decarbonisation of the heat supply on the heat network and will reduce the use of gas fired plant. It is predicted this project will see annual energy consumption savings of 3,899,577kWh and annual savings of 1180.10 tonnes of CO2 per annum.