The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Glenrothes families miss out on energy deal.
Hundreds of council properties won’t get cheaper energy after funding shortfall
Almost 300 Fife families were cut out of a multi-million-pound scheme that would have reduced their electricity bills, because of a lack of public funding.
The £24 million Glenrothes Energy Network will lessen energy costs, maintenance costs and carbon emissions, according to a briefing prepared for councillors.
It was reported last July that 327 homes in Glenrothes were identified as potential beneficiaries, as well as a social and community club, a local church, and council headquarters Fife House.
Now, just 45 council houses will benefit from the subsidised heating programme after it was scaled back – but the scheme will still cover Fife House and the council-owned Rothes Halls.
A “background and progress” slideshow, prepared this summer and seen by The Courier, reveals the total cost of the original project was £29.7m.
It states that a “council shortfall” of £5.9m was identified last December, prompting a request for extra funding.
One slide, titled “progress”, confirms that SNP ministers rejected the previous bid in January. It adds: “Reduced scheme proposed. Sized to fit budget.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and North East Fife MSP Willie Rennie said: “This is poor planning by the council but Fife has also been let down by the Scottish Government who have failed to step up with the funds necessary to provide lower cost and more efficient heating to the homes in Glenrothes.”
Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary Murdo Fraser said the scheme was “a real opportunity to cut energy bills for hundreds of homes.”
He added: “Instead, that has been cut back, meaning hardly anyone benefits.”
Mid Scotland and Fife’s Green MSP Mark Ruskell said: “What an advert for Fife it would have been if this scheme was shown to lower energy bills for more than 300 homes while fighting fuel poverty and climate change.”
The Scottish Government is providing £8.6m for the project through its Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP), while private company RWE is investing £13.6m.
Fife Council did not apply for extra funding in the most recent round of the annual cash handout but could do so next year. Its contribution is £1.8m.
Ross Tulloch, Glenrothes Energy Network programme manager, said the Scottish Government suggested cutting the project to its “core scheme” after rejecting the funding bid.
He said: “We looked at retaining as much of the council housing as possible, and were able to include the council care home and bungalows at Jubilee Grove.
“The Scottish Government has been very supportive and the process has been very collaborative. The construction of the ‘core’ scheme results in a significant investment in Glenrothes, with the potential for future extensions of the network to the Warout and Auchmuty areas.”
He added: “The scheme gives us a platform for expansion and the hope is that once we commission the scheme and demonstrate its successful operation, we will then be able to seek funding for expansion.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government, through the LCITP is very supportive of the Glenrothes Heat Project being led by Fife Council.
“We are providing substantial investment of £8.6 million to the establishment of the heat network which will deliver significant benefits for Glenrothes and enable expansion opportunities for the scheme in the future.”
The Glenrothes Energy Network is a positive project that will bring benefits both to the environment and to its users through cheaper household bills. Unfortunately, fewer households will see their energy outgoings shrink than was originally envisioned because the cost of the scheme was underestimated.
Let’s hope more funding can be found to extend the network back towards its original size and the project provides more warm homes than warm words.