Scottish Government business unit Scottish Development International (SDI) has acknowledged that it needs to work on initiatives to capitalise on opportunities in the marine renewable energy manufacturing industry.
In fact, SDI, the government's inward investment agency, has reportedly admitted that Spain and Portugal could soon be in a stronger position than Scotland to claim thousands of new manufacturing jobs as a result.
Speaking with NewEnergyFocus, SDI's senior executive for renewable energy development Paul O' Brien said, "We still have the opportunity to win that race, but if we go to sleep or we don't sort out the grid, we will lose the race…Our companies will be selling their technology, but they will be building in Spain or Portugal. Scotland has a large tidal resource on our doorstep - we should get the manufacturing companies to make use of it."
Scotland also indicated about its plans to come up with a multi-device array testing facility for wave power developers. The government is said to be in consultation with marine renewables developers regarding the same.
For its part, SDI has already indicated that the seas around Scotland could generate a quarter of Europe's tidal power. The Scottish Government wants half of its electricity from renewable energy by 2020, with a target of 31 percent by 2011.
