Up to £8.5 million is being awarded to the Glenrothes District heating scheme in Fife.

The funding boost will come from the Scottish Government's Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP), which is investing over £43m in low-carbon infrastructure projects across the country.

The district heating network in Glenrothes will use heat from RWE's Markinch biomass CHP plant to supply low carbon heat to a range of business, community, public sector and domestic customers in the centre of the town.

Plans have already been submitted to develop the heat distribution network, with a full planning to be informed by a consultation later this year.

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RWE is also set to submit planning permission for an energy centre on its operational power station site. The unit will use steam from the power station's turbine and transfer the heat through to the district heat system.

Funding from the LCITP is part of the Government's Scottish Energy Strategy, which aims to provide 50% of Scotland's heat, transport and electricity needs from renewable sources by 2030.

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."

RWE's Head of Biomass for RWE Markinch, Ian Calvert, added: "This scheme offers the opportunity to provide affordable heat to local businesses and homes and lowering carbon emissions through the use of hot water at the nearby Markinch power plant. We are proud to be part of this project and will work towards submitting planning permission for the Energy Centre in the coming months."

(LM)