£20m Investment to Improve Fife’s Power Grid

SP Energy Networks has embarked on a £20 million improvement project in and around St Andrews with investment set to boost the electricity network and enhance green capacity in Fife.

The whopping £20 million improvement project marks the network operator’s most substantial investment in the region over the next four years. The project aims to install a new primary substation in Guardbridge, located west of St Andrews.

This substation will be linked to the grid via two cutting-edge underground cable circuits, spanning a total of 12km in length, connecting Guardbridge to Cupar.

The action-packed project is scheduled to kick off at the end of this month and continue through until the end of 2025.

Part of SP Energy Networks’ hefty £85 million expenditure plan across Central and Fife from 2023 to 2028, the project is designed to ensure local communities benefit from a modern, robust, and dependable electricity network.

Additionally, the initiative will ramp up network capacity to accommodate the projected 30% surge in electricity demand in the St Andrew’s area over the next decade as more individuals transition to eco-friendly technologies such as electric vehicles (EVs) and heat pumps.

Archie Ferguson, SP Energy Networks’ Project Manager, expressed his enthusiasm for the project by stating:

“This investment will be a real game-changer for the region, ensuring that people and businesses can embrace a cleaner and greener way of life with open arms.

“To put it into perspective, this project will deliver enough additional capacity to support 1,800 new EV charging points and 1,200 heat pumps across St Andrew’s and the surrounding towns and villages. It will also facilitate new grid connections for renewable energy projects like wind and solar farms, aligning the network for a clean energy future.

“I have no doubt this will make a real difference for generations to come and support local ambitions to become a net zero region by 2045 – we’re proud to be playing our part.”

SP Energy Networks collaborated closely with Fife Council to meticulously plan the works’ route, deliberately avoiding working along Carslogie Road, Westport, and Bonnygate in Cupar. The works are slated to commence from the east side of Cupar, beginning at East Road, and following along the A91, passing through Dairsie and on to Guardbridge.

Although the works will be completed in brief sections along the route, disruptions are inevitable, and temporary traffic restrictions will be enforced as necessary.

Archie concluded: “We acknowledge there will be some inconvenience and disturbance during the works, and we’re striving to minimise that as much as possible. This includes selecting the least intrusive route for our operations, reducing the necessity for complete road closures – whenever feasible – and diminishing the impact on traffic flow during the major events the area is renowned for.

“Throughout the project, we are committed to keeping residents informed about the progress and timeline, with a leaflet distribution to local households and businesses around the initial phase of the works already underway.”

Image courtesy of SP Energy Networks.