An ambitious project to heat properties in central Glenrothes has received a multi-million pound boost from the Scottish Government.
Fife Council has been awarded £8.5 million pounds to help develop Glenrothes Heat, a scheme to provide low-carbon heat and hot water to businesses, community, public sector and council homes in the centre of the town.
Robin Presswood, Fife Council’s head of economy, planning and employability, said: “We’re delighted to hear the Scottish Government are committing to this investment in Fife.
“Glenrothes Heat could contribute significantly to our ambitious climate change targets, and could potentially reduce fuel poverty in Glenrothes households and provide cost savings for businesses.
“We’re looking forward to progressing this innovative low carbon heat project with RWE and the Scottish Government.”
The scheme would pipe heat, produced by the RWE Markinch biomass plant, to council-owned properties in the town centre area, though the scheme could potentially be expanded to areas such as Pitteuchar.
A public consultation on the proposals took place at the Rothes Halls in March, and there are hopes the project could be up and running by the end of the decade.
The Scottish Government’s cash injection amounts to almost half of the projected £17.1 million cost.
It is hoped that the first council-owned properties could be connected to the network as early as March 2019.
RWE’s Head of Biomass for RWE Markinch, Ian Calvert, also welcomed the announcement, saying: “The announcement by the Scottish Government to award funding to Glenrothes District Heat scheme is a fantastic boost for the project.
“We are proud to be part of this project and will work towards submitting planning permission for the Energy Centre in the coming months.”
