The Scottish Government yesterday launched an £18 million fund to support the development of the region’s first commercial wave and tidal power arrays.
First Minister Alex Salmond told the AllEnergy conference in Aberdeen that the Marine Renewables Commercialisation Fund (MRCF) is now open for bids from developers.
The £18 million fund, which will be administered by the Carbon Trust over the next three years, is part of the Scottish Government’s £35 million commitment to the wave and tidal sector.
“The new fund brings together the marine renewables expertise of the Carbon Trust, Scottish Government and our enterprise agencies,” he said. “It will help move the wave and tidal sector from prototype devices to commercially-viable arrays.”
As well as the MRCF, Salmond also announced the first award from the £70 million National Renewables Infrastructure Fund (N-RIF).
A grant of £500,000 will go to WB Westway to develop a dock ten miles from Glasgow in Renfrewshire to create a manufacturing centre for renewable energy.
Initial work will dredge the dock area, create a channel on the River Cart and improve the quayside to allow the handling of heavy components for the offshore wind sector.
Ultimately, a further 30 acres of the site could be developed as part of a £70 million master plan.
“Further awards are expected later this year to support additional investment in key port locations around Scotland – ensuring communities across the country are ideally-placed to seize the huge opportunities of the global renewables revolution,” added Salmond.
Finally, Salmond also outlined a new Centre for CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery in Scotland, which will look at opportunities for carbon capture and storage in the North Sea.
For further information:
www.scotland.gov.uk
www.carbontrust.com/client-services/technology/innovation/marine-renewables-commercialisation-fund
Related stories:
Vattenfall, Babcock and Abengoa launch marine energy engineering venture (9-May)
UK Crown Estate grants lease for Welsh tidal project (2-May)
UK government launches £20 million marine energy scheme (5-Apr)
UK wave and tidal energy “on cusp” of commercialisation, says report (16-Mar)
Article source: http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/i/5128/
