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News

One more step on the 'Path to Power'

Tuesday 20 February 2007

Today’s announcement by the Scottish Executive of £13 million worth of grant funding for nine projects in Scottish waters is welcome news for the UK marine renewables industry.

This announcement, the first round of the Scottish Executive Marine Energy Fund, builds on the Department of Trade and Industry’s R&D grants and Marine Renewables Deployment Fund and the Scottish Marine Supplier Obligation, which in combination place the UK firmly at the forefront of marine renewables development.

However, in order to retain and extend this global leadership, UK Government must now step up to the plate and deliver a UK-wide overarching strategy which includes a long-term market for marine renewables, as called for by BWEA in their June 2006 publication ‘Path to Power’.

As BWEA CEO Maria McCaffery commented:

“These funds are an excellent expression of intent by Scotland to become the world leaders in marine renewables. Nevertheless, bearing in mind this is a potentially multi billion pound industry, UK governments at all levels must recognise that only by working together and providing the right level of support in order for marine to compete in the market will this potential be realised."

The issues surrounding the further development of the UK marine renewables industry will be the subject of much discussion in a little over three weeks time at BWEA’s 4th annual conference, Marine 07. To be held on 15th March at the QEII Centre in Westminster, London, the largest dedicated event for the sector in the world to date will attract over 300 of the world’s leading figures, including UK Government ministers, governmental representatives from the US, Canada and Scotland, and European players including Spain and Portugal.

Notes

BWEA is the UK’s leading renewable energy association, representing the interests of all major stakeholders in the development and delivery of clean and sustainable electricity from wind, wave and tidal sources. For more information on marine renewables see www.bwea.com/marine

In June 2006, BWEA launched the largest ever study on how to create a strategy for the expansion of wave and tidal stream energy around the UK, based on over 100 interviews with industry, marine stakeholders, financiers, electrical infrastructure bodies and key Government departments. Sponsored by npower juice, ‘The Path to Power' explores the hurdles to harnessing the UK’s vast marine renewables resource - identified as financing, grid access, and consenting – and sets out recommendations for the most effective way of overcoming them, in effect a route-map to creating a world-class domestic industry. See www.bwea.com/pdf/pathtopower/PathtoPower_low.pdf
 
BWEA Marine 07, co-sponsored by ScottishPower renewables and Scottish Development International, is being held on 15 March at the QEII Centre, Westminster. For conference programme and speaker list see www.bwea.com/marine/conference.html.

The Scottish Executive press release, identifying six of the nine funding recipients which are Scottish Renewables’ members representing 80% of this round of the Marine Energy Fund, is available at www.scotland.gov.uk/News/News-Today