100 firms to compete for Scotland's £10m marine energy prize
Tuesday 14 April 2009
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| The £10m Saltire Prize is available for wave or tidal devices demonstrated in Scottish waters between 2010 and 2014 |
The Scottish Government's £10 million prize for pioneering marine energy projects has attracted 100 registrations of interest from 23 countries and five continents, First Minister Alex Salmond revealed on Friday.
Mr Salmond revealed the level of competition for the Saltire Prize as he visited China last week, claiming that the level of interest in the scheme meant Scotland "can and will lead the clean, green energy revolution".
The Scottish Government said its prize would go to a team that can demonstrate a commercially viable wave or tidal energy technology in Scottish waters.
The technology will have to achieve a minimum electrical output of 100GWh over a two-year period in to be eligible for the prize. The winner will be the system judged to be the best in terms of cost, safety and environmental sustainability, but on current plans will not be named before Spring 2015.
Mr Salmond said: "The Saltire Prize will support technological breakthroughs that will help unlock the enormous potential of marine renewable energy and prepare education and skills development to meet the green job demands of the future."
Scotland's First Minister has been visiting China to strengthen trade links, particularly regarding whisky, golf and renewable energy.
He said: "We have been promoting Scotland's leading edge in renewable energy throughout our time here in China. Our natural wealth of renewable sources, our ambitious target to supply 50% of Scotland's electricity from those sources by 2020, has enabled us to pledge this week to play a leading role in helping China achieve its target of doubling the country's consumption share of renewable energy by in the same timeframe."
While visiting Beijing, Mr Salmond met with Professor Lu Yongxiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who is one of the 11 members of the committee that will judge the Saltire Prize.
The Scottish Government's current schedule will see final guidelines for the prize issued this summer, with the official start of the competition in January 2010. Projects will have until December 2014 to achieve the 100GWh requirement within a continuous two-year period, after which a winner will be selected.
SgurrEnergy
During last week's visit to Beijing, the First Minister also opened the new Beijing office of the Scottish renewable energy consultancy SgurrEnergy, launching the company's new laser device for measuring wind speed and direction, called the Galion Lidar.
The device means wind farm developers can survey multiple locations for potential wind turbines from a single deployment, helping to cut costs in pre-planning work for wind farms.
Working in partnership with the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) on the EU-China Energy Environment-funded project, SgurrEnergy is currently assessing the economic viability of constructing offshore wind farms along a 10,000 kilometre stretch of coastline from Fujian to Shandong. The project is due for completion in August 2009.
The launch of our Galion Lidar technology in China will be of interest to wind farm developers across the country and wider region
The project also includes a feasibility study for a 100 MW offshore wind farm off the coast of Jiangsu province.
Mr Salmond said: "SgurrEnergy's success shows just what can be achieved. It is only six years since the company began life as a small business in an attic in Glasgow."
SgurrEnergy has been working in China since 2006, but recently changed its status to a wholly-owned foreign enterprise, allowing it to work with local Chinese companies under a Chinese registration Feng Neng Sgurr (Beijing) Renewable Energy Technology Co Ltd. Previously, it was only able to work with foreign companies operating in China.
The company's co-founder, Ian Irvine, said: "In 2005 we recognised many opportunities in the Chinese renewable energy market. The decision to open an office in Beijing has certainly paid off and SgurrEnergy has experienced strong growth in China.
"The new larger Beijing office will give us room to continue to expand in China and we expect to create five additional jobs here over the next 12 months. Certainly the launch of our Galion Lidar technology in China will be of interest to wind farm developers across the country and wider region."
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