Three of Scotland's universities are to receive £20m under a new project to help the country meet its carbon emission reduction targets.

The universities – St Andrews, Strathclyde and Stirling – will receive the fund from the Scottish Government through the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), which will allow them to build a number of new projects.

At St Andrews University, £10m will be used for a wood-fuelled biomass project at Guardbridge, Fife; while £8m will be given to Strathclyde University to build a combined heat, power and district energy network that will link the campus with major energy users in the area.

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The remaining £2m will be for Stirling University for the installation of a Combined Heat and Power plant to serve its main campus.

Welcoming the announcement, Education Secretary Michael Russell, said: "Investment for these three universities will not only contribute to reducing our carbon emissions, their work will offer other bodies the opportunity to learn from their work, develop their own projects and further enhance Scotland's global reputation in this area."

Laurence Howells, Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council, added: "These are exciting investments with huge potential, not least because they tap into the world-leading knowledge within our universities and allow them to show what the future could be for carbon reduction in Scotland.

"We see this as an important step forward but recognise there is still much more to be done. No one can be complacent about protecting our environment."

(JP)