New Scottish wave technology body
The Scottish Government says that a new wave technology development body is to be established which aims to encourage innovation in the industry.
Wave Energy Scotland will bring together the best engineering and academic minds to collaborate in a research and development programme to accelerate wave technology further.
Scotland’s Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism, Fergus Ewing, said: “With the extraordinary ocean energy resources off Scotland’s coasts, our belief in the future success of wave energy is undiminished. Now is the right time to consider the future of our support for wave energy in Scotland. This is a young industry and we still have a lot of learning to do in marine renewables.”
He said that array demonstration projects such as the the MeyGen project in the Pentland Firth is one such example that needs to be encouraged – but the wave energy sector must evolve further to gain the confidence of investors.
Lindsay Leask, senior policy manager, Scottish Renewables, welcomed the announcement. She said: “The Scottish Government should be applauded for the creation of Wave Energy Scotland, which will provide crucial support to the home-grown Scottish companies who dominate the sector and allow collaboration on key shared engineering issues.”
The recent news that Pelamis Wave Power entered administration is an indication just how challenging extracting energy from the waves can be, demonstrating just how important collaborative schemes like Wave Energy Scotland may be going forward.
By Anne-Marie Causer
Related Articles
MARINE CONSTRUCTION
POWER & PROPULSION
ENVIRONMENT