Spades of potential
Deputy First Minster John Swinney joined in the official start of construction work on the £25 million University’s green energy centre at Guardbridge this month (Monday 6 July 2015).
A state-of-the-art biomass facility, using only wood from sustainable local sources, will be built on the site of a former paper mill at Guardbridge and which will pump hot water from the plant four miles underground to heat and cool laboratories and student residences in St Andrews.
The green energy centre will help to regenerate north east Fife by creating more than 225 jobs in the construction phase. The University has developed the Guardbridge Guarantee as part of the project. This ensures that the project supports apprenticeship and graduate training, creating and sustaining jobs while working with the local community to promote environment and energy projects and local business.
Mr Swinney met representatives from the University to formally hand the site over to the construction team to start work. Addressing a gathering of St Andrews staff, funders and community representatives, Mr Swinney spoke of the “fantastic, imaginative potential” of the Guardbridge project.
The University’s Chief Operating Officer Derek Watson said:
“The start of construction work at Guardbridge represents a major strategic step for the University. We are committed to becoming carbon neutral for energy and this large industrial site lends itself to the creation of a range of renewable energies which are vital to our efforts to remain one of Europe’s leading research institutions.
“With the biomass at its heart, we believe the diverse range of potential uses at Guardbridge has the capacity to re-establish this huge site as a key economic centre in Fife.”