Responding to the Energy Minster, Fergus Ewing’s, statement to the Scottish Parliament on 22 March 2012 about the Renewable Energy Investment Fund, Niall Stuart, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, said:
“After the recent positive announcement on locating the UK Green Investment Bank Headquarters in Edinburgh, the Energy Minister’s statement on the Renewable Energy Investment Fund makes for doubly good news for Scotland’s flourishing renewable energy sector.
“This new £103 million fund will inject much-needed investment into the development of the next generation of renewable technologies, such as marine energy and renewable heat. This kind of support can be a vital catalyst in attracting even greater levels of private investment.
“Scotland is already at the forefront of developing and testing emerging wave and tidal technologies and, with the correct level of government support, we can become a global centre of excellence in both the deployment of these technologies and their accompanying supply chains.
“The renewable energy industry is already providing thousands of Scottish jobs and has the potential to bring in billions of pounds
into the Scottish economy. The Renewable Energy Investment Fund will help the industry and local communities continue to deliver Scotland’s ambition of maximising its renewable energy potential.”
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Offshore WIND staff, March 23, 2012; Image: scottishrenewables