Scotland's parks could provide low-carbon energy to heat 15% of the country's homes, according to new research.
A study of 3,500 green spaces suggested urban parks could be used to generate significant amounts of energy by capturing the heat in the ground. This could then be fed out to heat neighbouring homes.
Decarbonising the heat network is a challenge for the Scottish Government as most homes have gas boilers. When burned, the gas releases large amounts of carbon dioxide, which stays in the atmosphere and contributes towards climate change.
Greenspace Scotland says ground-source heat pumps in urban parks could save vast amounts of carbon by replacing fossil-fuel heating systems. The report, called ParkPower, suggests that the pumps would be buried more than 1 metre under football pitches or recreational grass land.
It involves laying horizontal coils which extract heat from the soil which is heated by the sun, making it renewable. The longer the coil, the more heat can be extracted, meaning significant numbers of homes can be kept warm through district heating.
A scheme at Saughton Public Park in Edinburgh has been used as a pilot, but only to heat buildings within the park.
Julie Procter, chief executive of Greenspace Scotland, said: "We are all familiar with thinking about Scotland's parks as our natural health service, our children's outdoor classrooms and our cities' green lungs".
"The findings of the ParkPower project mean we could soon add 'community power stations' to that list".
