Developing an onshore and offshore Grid is a priority to allow Scotland to develop and deliver its offshore renewable energy potential. It can be a key building block to export Scotland's renewable energy to national electricity grids in the UK and Europe.
Scotland has a clear, competitive advantage across the range of renewable technologies - with up to 25 per cent of Europe's offshore wind, wave and tidal energy potential. It is vital that we harness our renewables resources, and develop a grid infrastructure so that we can export the massive quantities of green energy Scotland is capable of producing.
We want Scotland to benefit from the significant economic, environmental and technical opportunities in developing an offshore transmission network to encourage electricity generation from renewable resources in the North and Irish Seas, including wave energy and deep water offshore wind.
We are already exploring the opportunities associated with the development of an offshore transmission network, and the case for commercial investment and are engaging with key Scottish industry and academic players on how to take this forward. The presence of the North Sea Offshore Grid as one of the six infrastructure priorities within the European Commissions Strategic Energy Review will give significant impetus to our efforts to understand, to develop, and then to deliver Scotland's offshore renewable energy potential.