The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) has urged the Scottish Government to set up a £40million fund for the marine energy projects.
The Institution has come up with a Marine Energy report, addressing challenges related to the development of the sector. It has made the following recommendations for the Scottish Government and other stakeholders:
· Political leadership. Marine energy enjoys cross-party support, and strong, consistent political leadership mitigates perceived political risk amongst investors.
· Funding. A £40M fund would ensure that a sufficient range of well-engineered wave and tidal energy technology can be tested in the ocean environment.
· Infrastructure. Grid infrastructure solutions are required to allow marine energy in Scotland to play its part in meeting the UK's renewable energy targets.
The Institution says Scottish marine energy would create sustainable wealth from technology, manufacturing and engineering support, and contribute to climate change targets. Scotland is uniquely placed to exploit natural advantages to achieve this. It has also acknowledged that its waters could potentially produce 25 percent of Europe's tidal power and 10 percent of its wave power.
"The North Sea oil and gas industry guarantees a pre-existing a concentration of subsea and marine engineering skills and infrastructure, while Scottish academic institutions and technology developers are at the vanguard of research in marine energy," it stated. "To secure the prize, Scotland must act now to ensure that a sufficient range of well-engineered wave and tidal energy technology is tested in the ocean environment."
According to IMechE, abundant natural resources, innovative funding proposals, political consensus, and world-class engineers mean that there is enormous potential for Scotland to pioneer commercial marine energy and become a global leader in this emerging source of renewable energy.
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