WORK is under way on a £5.5 million electricity substation which will support the new Dunfermline Learning Campus.

SP Energy Networks have announced the start of construction on the substation, which is the first of it's kind in Fife for more than 20 years.

It's hoped that the project, backed by Ofgem's Green Recovery Fund, will make it easier for people to connect green energy solutions like heat pumps and electric vehicles, as well as help to better manage demand on the existing network.

Ross Galbraith, SP Energy Networks’ district general manager for Fife, said: "It’s really exciting to be launching a major network investment project like this in Scotland’s newest city, which will support more renewable energy coming onto the grid.

"Our new substation will make a real difference for residents, businesses and communities alike, supporting them to make the switch to EVs, all-electric heating and a clean energy future.

"Our project will ensure no community is left behind as we deliver a fair and just transition to Net Zero and I’m especially proud that it will power the future education of local people through the city’s new all-electric Learning Campus."

The £220 million teaching hub promises to provide state-of-the-art facilities for Fife College students, alongside new school buildings for St Columba's RC High School and Woodmill High School.

It's scheduled to open in 2024 and will be 'all-electric', with the substation, which will also provide for nearby housing developments, cutting carbon emissions even further.

Dr Hugh Hall, principal at Fife College, said: "We're incredibly ambitious about what we want to achieve with the Dunfermline Learning Campus.

"Not only do we want the campus to provide world-class facilities for our students and our partners, we are keen that the building itself reflects the latest developments in low energy and Net Zero.

"Our positive engagement with SP Energy Networks around the new substation, as well as our participation in the Pathfinder Project to achieve the ‘Net Zero Public Buildings Standard’, are key to helping us realise our ambition of creating the first Net Zero tertiary education building in Scotland."

Work is due to be completed on the project by December this year.