The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Glenrothes biomass heat project starts
district heating: Markinch scheme offers lower-cost energy
Work has started on Glenrothes Heat, a project to develop a potential new district heating network in the Fife town using heat from the nearby RWE Markinch Biomass CHP plant.
The plan is for RWE’s facility rather than gas or electricity to provide the heat for businesses and homes in the centre of Glenrothes.
Highly insulated underground pipes would carry the hot water to properties within an allocated area.
Instead of a boiler a heat interface unit at each address would provide the occupant with full heating control and domestic hot water generation.
The RWE Markinch biomass plant is 90% fuelled by waste wood from Fife Council recycling centres, providing businesses with lower-cost energy and helping prevent climate change.
Community heating schemes have been well received in Aberdeen, Glasgow Commonwealth Games Athletes’ Village, and the Wyndford Estate, Dunfermline Community Energy scheme.
Glenrothes is a good candidate for the project due to its proximity to the RWE plant, avoiding the need to build a costly new scheme.
Community heating schemes are not new but advances in technology have made them as flexible and controllable as domestic gas boiler systems and offer cheaper heating and hot water supplies.
The first phase is focused on the town centre and Queensway industrial area.
The project is looking at heating requirements of public buildings, commercial, industrial and domestic premises with the intention of expanding the network in future.
The project is a partnership between Fife Council, RWE Markinch Ltd and the Scottish Government.
The initial phase of the work, to develop a technical and business case for the heat network, is being led by WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff and will continue until November.
Businesses and households will be asked about their heat requirements and heating systems to establish the level of investment required to connect to the new district heating scheme.
Ian Calvert, RWE’s head of biomass, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for RWE working in partnership with Fife Council to support a project that could have a significant economic and environmental impact on our local community.”
Councillor John Wincott, the Fife Council sustainability champion, said: “District heating has the potential to reduce both fuel poverty and carbon emissions.
“By using a central heat plant, the costs can be reduced and efficiencies of scale generated that could benefit both commercial and domestic users.”