At the end of April, we completed long-planned work to improve the efficiency of our solar array on the roof of Tumbles at Portobello.

We have over 400 panels on Tumbles’ roof, with a generating capacity of 125kw. To give an idea of what this means, common residential solar panel system sizes in the UK have a generating capacity of between 3-6kW.

The Edinburgh Solar Co-op site at Tumbles was part of the original phase of panels which we put on the roofs of 24 Edinburgh buildings in 2016. However, this site poses additional challenges due to the presence of a significant number of seagulls at this seaside location.

The seagulls not only sit on the panels but also deposit their poo on the panels, all of which blocks the sun and reduces the efficiency of the panels. Tumbles’ roof is only accessible with scaffolding so it’s not possible for us to clean them very often due to the expense involved in doing this.

Additionally, the seagulls drop shells on the panels – in an attempt to break the shells open – which has damaged some of the panels. There is also an issue with nesting birds and the detritus gathering under the panels which has also affected their efficiency due to negatively impacting the wiring underneath.

To address all of the above, and make the site generate as much solar energy as possible, our contractors, On Site Generation and Future Green Technology Ltd, worked across the week to clean the panels, exchange broken or damaged ones for replacements, clean under the panels and lift the wiring, and to net around the panels to prevent nesting and detritus from gathering under the panels again. The work went incredibly well and the sun was shining throughout the week.

Edinburgh Solar board member, Gail Wilson, visited the site during the week to see the solar array and the work which had been done:

“It was brilliant to see the panels up close and learn more about the solutions put in place. Richard from On Site Generation gave me a nice wee tour and explained it all very clearly.

It was a privilege to see – most people don’t get the chance to stand on rooftops very often and it was some view! Also, having never climbed scaffolding before, that was a wee adventure for me. Thanks to the team for all of their work on this.”

The ECSC Board will be keeping track of the generation on this site to monitor what difference this maintenance and improvement work has made.