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Green energy centre
22/02/2008
A new Scottish European Green Energy Centre is to be established - and its hub will be in Aberdeen, it was announced today.
Speaking at the European Movement Energy Conference in Aberdeen, First Minister Alex Salmond said that our renewable potential and the technical expertise of our people meant that Scotland had something to offer Europe across every energy area.
He said:
"Not long ago, Scotland's climate was seen as something of a drawback. Well no longer. Now our powerful waters and our high winds - onshore and offshore - are the envy of Europe, and key to our future prosperity.
"Our universities and industry punch above their weight - and here at Aberdeen University, and in Glasgow and Edinburgh, we have seen them come together through the new Energy Technology Partnership, and its work to develop and disseminate ground-breaking renewables and low carbon research.
"So we can offer a powerful shared commitment between Government, industry and our universities. But we also know that we can learn much from European countries, whether they be near neighbours or from further afield.
"That is why I am proud to announce that we intend to develop a new Scottish European Green Energy Centre, to become an EU agency within five years. It will draw upon the strengths of the Energy Technology Partnership and build on the broad network of European research and industry-wide partnerships we already have in place. It will use this strong base to develop new and strengthened links and deliver new projects.
"I am pleased that European Commissioners have offered us strong support for the idea. In the immediate term we will build on the many existing initiatives already in place and secure EU funding streams in energy and research to support the activities of the centre. I am also delighted to report that Scottish companies are keen to give this project their full support.
"And it is only right that the hub of the new centre will be based in Aberdeen - based at the new Energy Technologies Institute, a joint venture between Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University.
"I want to see Scotland working as a full and equal partner with our fellow countries in the North West Atlantic actively deploying the new energy technologies for the benefit of all. We want Scottish based industry and research to be at the forefront of European and world developments in this field. I want Aberdeen - and Glasgow and Edinburgh for that matter - to be the real European energy centres of the future as well as the present."
Jason Ormiston, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, said:
"Scotland's renewable energy resource and expertise means there is a strong case to locate European research and development centres in Scotland with each considering a particular engineering challenge - like the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney. These can be delivered through energy technology partnerships at a Scottish, UK and European level and so Scottish Renewables, as Scotland's leading renewable energy trade association, will strongly support initiatives to make that happen and help realise its enormous potential."
Keith Anderson, Managing Director of ScottishPower Renewables, said:
"ScottishPower strongly supports the establishment of a Scottish European Green Energy Centre which will help to bring forward new and innovative green energy technologies. We have a super-abundance of renewable energy resources in Scotland and this initiative will help ensure that we capture the full benefits of these resources for our environment, and our economy."
The purpose of the Scottish European Green Energy Centre (SEGEC) will be to develop networks and partnerships with research and deployment bodies for green energy in like minded countries designed to promote the development and deployment of green energy technologies. A development team from the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise Energy Team (based in Aberdeen), Scotland Europa and the Energy Technology Partnership will work over the coming months to establish the Centre and its workplan.
It will build on the many existing European wide projects under way in which Scottish partners are playing a full part and to develop them into new and strengthened joint projects which contribute towards the new targets of the Energy Policy for Europe (EPE).
The development team will aim to establish SEGEC as a self-standing body led by a practitioner with experience in green energy development in Europe and containing a number of development and promotion staff. It will be managed by a board representing the various stakeholders and work in partnership with the newly established Energy Technology Partnership (ETP), which draws together the extensive experience and strengths in Scottish Universities with hubs in Glasgow (Strathclyde University), Edinburgh and Aberdeen. The intention is that the Scottish European Green Energy Centre will be co-located with the Aberdeen hub of the ETP at the new Energy Technology Insitute, a joint venture between Aberdeen and Robert Gordon's University.
From a Scottish base, it will link into key EU partner countries - north and south, east and west. It will drive co-operative research and development into key green technologies and work with industries throughout the EU to promote commercialisation and to help the EU meet its ambitious targets on renewables.
The European Commission has a commitment to reduce Europe's carbon emissions by up to 30 per cent by 2020 and to boost renewable energy's share of Europe's energy mix to 20 per cent.
The Scottish Government intends to establish a statutory target to reduce Scottish emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. By 2011, Scotland will meet at least 31 per cent of our electricity demand from renewables - by 2020 the intention is to make that at least 50 per cent.