Speaking ahead of the Renewable UK conference in Edinburgh, Scottish energy minister Fergus Ewing said the government has adopted a new approach to funding to “encourage technology developers to work with large engineering companies, academics and each other to address shared challenges”.
Scottish Renewables senior policy manager Lindsay Leask said the announcement was a “welcome sign” of the Scottish government’s “continued commitment to the sector”.
The funding comes despite a warning from energy secretary Ed Davey in November that continual government funding for the sector would “not be a sustainable model in the long-term” and that the industry needs to work with the government to attract investors.
Wave Energy Scotland was established to “bring together the best engineering and academic minds to collaborate in a research and development programme to accelerate wave technology further”.
Leask says the industry has “recognised for some time that a collaborative approach to solving these problems is vital to ensure wave energy devices can develop to commercial scale”.
A Marine Energy Programme Board report launched today urges the UK government to offer practical and financial support to the industry to add up to £4 billion to UK GDP.