The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Heat network
Power for the people scheme progressing in Fife
A newly commissioned biomass-fuelled combined heat and power plant at Markinch is making a significant contribution to renewable energy output in Scotland.
The plant, owned and operated by German utility giant RWE, generates enough energy to power around 100,000 homes.
The £200-million-plus plant is the largest of its type in the UK, with an installed capacity of up to 65MW.
It is fuelled by around 450,000 tonnes of biomass per annum – around 90% of which is recovered waste wood and the remainder from sustainably-managed forests.
Wood is burned in a high-efficiency boiler at the Glenrothes plant.
Steam is generated at 90 times atmospheric pressure and at 520C, with more than 210 tonnes per hour passing through a steam turbine which drives an air-cooled alternator to produce electrical power as well as heat for industrial consumers.
At the time of its commissioning last year, the biomass plant replaced the outdated coal and gas fired power station that had been used for generations to provide power and heat to Glenrothes papermaker Tullis Russell.
This represented a reduction in UK fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions by around 250,000 tonnes per annum.
Tullis Russell’s Fife site went into administration due to a variety of factors shortly after the biomass plant opened, though Markinch still supplies heat and power to Glenrothes Paper.
Work is now under way into the feasibility of using the plant as part of a new district heating network.
The Glenrothes Heat project is a partnership between Fife Council, RWE and the Scottish Government and has been established to determine the potential heating requirements of public buildings as well as commercial, industrial and domestic premises in the area around Glenrothes town centre.
As a key component of the Scottish Government’s approach to meet climate-change targets and secure the transition to a low-carbon economy north of the border, district heat developments also have the potential to reduce fuel poverty – mainly thanks to the reduction in costs brought about by the use of heat from the power plant rather than from mains gas.
Funding for the project development has been secured from Scotland’s Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme and is supported by European Regional Development Funding.
An RWE spokeswoman told The Courier: “The initial phase of the project, to develop both a technical and business case for the heat network has identified that attractive opportunities exist to supply heat to both current and planned retail and commercial units in the area of Queensway industrial estate.
“In addition to these commercial supply opportunities, a scheme to supply the main Fife Council buildings and also to supply many residential properties in the town centre has been designed.”
When implemented, this wider scheme would be able to deliver reduced fuel bills for the council.
The RWE spokeswoman added: “The next step is to take forward the business case and look at the variety of ways that this exciting development can be funded using a combination of private and public funding.”