Scottish
Enterprise has announced £3.5 million of new investment in
Scotland’s growing renewable energy sector, Energy Minister Fergus Ewing
announced yesterday.
Four projects are
being supported through the enterprise agency’s Renewable Energy
Investment Fund (REIF).
• Islay
Energy Community Benefit Society will receive a £735k loan to install a
community owned 330Kw turbine on the island, with the potential to power the
equivalent of 300 homes.
•
Edinburgh-based Nova Innovation has secured a £700k loan from REIF to
support the first phase of the 0.5MW Shetland Tidal Array, believed to be the
first deployment of a tidal energy array anywhere in the world. Scottish
Enterprise is backing the project with a £1.2 million R&D grant that
will lever in an additional £1.85 million of private sector
investment.
• Fintry
Development Trust, a body dedicated to making the village in Stirlingshire a
zero-carbon, zero-waste community, is being supported with a £615k loan.
It will help refinance a commercial agreement that gives the trust an income
stream from the nearby Earlsburn Wind Farm. This income will be invested in
local renewable projects.
• Inverness
company AWS Ocean Energy has received a loan of £250k to support further
development and testing of its AWS-III, a wave energy device which offers the
prospect of wave energy on a farm scale. AWS also received support through the
first round of WATERS funding.
In Aberdeen,
attending the All-Energy Conference, Mr Ewing said:
“This latest
round of Scottish Enterprise funding underlines the Scottish Government’s
commitment to Scotland’s growing renewables sector.
“Scotland is
a world leader in deploying renewables technology. We have tremendous green
energy potential and vast natural resources, about a quarter of Europe's
wind and tidal energy and 10% of its wave power.
“Clean,
green energy is creating opportunities for communities across Scotland and
delivering jobs and investment.”
Welcoming the
investment, head of REIF Andrew Smith said:
“These are
really ambitious and exciting projects, which clearly demonstrate the wide
range of initiatives that REIF was set up to support. They also show how by
working with other funders we can leverage significant investment from the
private sector.
“Scotland is
fast gaining a global reputation for being at the forefront of developing and
testing new technologies in the development of wind, wave and tidal energy, and
all of these projects will make a real contribution to the ongoing development
of the sector.”
Calum Davidson,
Director of Energy and Low Carbon at Highlands and Islands Enterprise,
said:
"The
investment in each of these projects is particularly welcome given their
pioneering nature and potential impact on economic and social development in
the Highlands and Islands.
“Not only
will they contribute to further development of wave, tidal and community owned
renewable energy, but their innovative nature ensures that yet again Scotland
remains firmly in the renewable energy spotlight.
“This is
further demonstrated this week at All-Energy, where the largest regional
presence is held by the Highlands and Islands."
Notes To
Editors
The Renewable
Energy Investment Fund was launched in October 2012. Its aim is to promote the
use of energy from specific renewable sources and drive further investment into
key areas of Scotland’s renewables industry.
REIF is delivered
by the Scottish Investment Bank – the investment arm of Scottish
Enterprise – on behalf of the Scottish Government and its Enterprise
Agencies.
WATERS is a
collaborative venture between Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Government and
Highlands and Islands Enterprise, with funding from the European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF).Companies based in Scotland and Scottish subsidiaries
of overseas companies are invited to submit project proposals that will advance
wave and tidal energy devices.