Members of RWE’s management team were joined by Fife Council officials and representatives of contractors Balfour Beatty and Vital Energi.
Vital Energi was awarded the contract for the design and development of the Energy Centre by RWE. Balfour Beatty is main contractor for the heat network, and has also appointed Vital Energi as its specialist subcontractor.
Vital Energi has now started preparatory civil engineering works. A full works programme will begin at the end of June, starting with the building of the external structure.
Glenrothes Energy Network is a £24m local heating collaboration between Fife Council, RWE and the Scottish government. It will provide heating to a mix of industrial, commercial, community and domestic properties in Glenrothes as well as the Fife House complex.
RWE will own the Energy Centre and provide the heat required for the network from its biomass plant and Fife Council will own the network and act as service provider. The Scottish government is supporting the development through its Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (match funded by the European Regional Development Fund). The project is expected to be operational by the end of January 2019.
Vital Energi regional director Mike Cooke said: “The design and construction of the energy centre will be the quickest of its kind, with heat on during the autumn having commenced construction in April. Close liaison with heat customers during system connections will see existing gas connections displaced by renewable heat generating improvements to air quality and a reduction in carbon emissions.”
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