Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond yesterday announced a £35 million fund to support the development of offshore renewables in the region.

Speaking at the Scottish Low Carbon Investment Conference in Edinburgh, Salmond commented:
“We are determined to remain among the most attractive locations for manufacturing, including the prototype testing that follows the R&D phase. That is why I am announcing a new £35 million fund to support production of full-scale prototypes of the next-generation offshore wind turbines.”

The £35 million POWERS fund aims to build initial successes in attracting turbine manufacturers like Gamesa and Mitsubishi to the region and leverage up to an additional £80 million in private investment.

“Offshore wind is a rapidly expanding, long term, global market, with significant low carbon economic growth opportunities for Scotland,” says Scottish Enterprise chief executive Lena Wilson. “We have a real opportunity to capture a share of the critical turbine manufacturing market.”

The announcement follows the news earlier in the week that local company Aquamarine Power has secured £7 million in funding and a commitment to further support from shareholders to take its Oyster wave power technology to commercialisation.

For further information:
www.scotland.gov.uk

Related stories:
Aquamarine Power rides £7 million wave of new funding (27-Sept)
Moray Offshore Renewables plans 1300 MW development for Scotland (15-Aug)
Scotland unveils plans to meet 2020 target of 30% renewables (4-Jul)