The Glasgow Museum Resource Centre (GMRC) is set for a cash injection of £1.9 million to improve its energy efficiency.
THE GMRC is the store for the city’s museum collections when they are not on display across various venues.
Glasgow Life who run the city’s cultural attractions were awarded the £1.5m grant through Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund, which helps public buildings tap into investment for environmentally sustainable solutions.
The money will be used for important upgrades to improve the energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions at the facility which houses millions of precious objects in the city’s collections.
Works are set to get underway this month and will be completed by the end of the year, bosses say.
The work will include the replacement of gas boilers with air source heat pumps, the installation of solar panels, the replacement of windows, an upgrading of the electrical supply and building management controls, and repairs to minimise heat loss.
Glasgow Life Head of Infrastructure Support, Isabel Brown, said: “The improvements at Glasgow Museums Resource Centre will make a huge difference; we estimate they will enable annual savings of around 156 tonnes of CO2.
“This important project reflects Glasgow Life’s environmental sustainability strategy and ongoing commitment to achieve net zero goals.
“During 2023/24, across our property estate we invested £1.8 million in a wide range of energy-related projects, including the installation of more efficient heating and lighting technologies at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, and Glasgow City Halls.
“And throughout 2024/25 we continue to drive forward our energy-efficiency programme, through multiple projects, with a £3.8m investment in sustainability solutions.”
In line with its climate change action commitment to achieve net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2045, the Scottish Government made £20m grant funding available within the 2024/25 financial year through Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund.
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The GMRC grant is one of more than a dozen awarded through the scheme to projects that will replace heating systems with zero direct emissions solutions and retrofit additional measures to improve energy efficiency.
On top of the £1,521,543 grant, Glasgow City Council is topping it up with capital funds to take the value of investment up to £1.9m.
Funding is being delivered by Salix Finance, who fund schemes across the UK to support councils, schools, leisure trusts, and universities, on behalf of the Scottish Government.
Salix Programme Coordinator, Chris Cain, said: “Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund plays an important role in enabling public sector organisations to transform and decarbonise the buildings that make up their estate.
“Glasgow Life has utilised Salix’s loan funding in the past to achieve significant energy savings and the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre project will only accelerate the organisation’s path to net zero.
“The project showcases the important role of grant funding in unlocking projects across the country that reduce emissions and lower energy consumption while also cutting energy bills to deliver tangible benefits for communities.”
The vast purpose-built storage facility and visitor centre in Glasgow’s South Side houses around 1.4 million objects in Glasgow City’s Collections, which are managed and cared for by Glasgow Life Museums. Publicly accessible for free tours and educational talks, the massive building comprises 17 environmentally controlled ‘pods’ which are filled with artefacts ranging from fossils to fine art. Only 2% of the Collections can be displayed at the city’s museums at any one time so the majority of the remaining objects are stored at Glasgow Museums Resource Centre.
Overseeing the project to make the GMRC more energy efficient is facilities management and project management advisors CBRE Global Workplace Solutions (GWS).
Managing Director, Oliver Metcalfe, added: “The Glasgow Museums Resource Centre is a unique property asset as it accommodates one of Europe’s most important museum collections, so we are delighted to be supporting Glasgow Life’s estates team on this innovative energy efficiency upgrading project, from concept through to implementation.
“This project will play an important part in contributing significantly to the net zero goals of both the facility and the organisation’s portfolio of estates across the city.”
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