Scotland has the greatest marine renewable energy resource in the world. Despite the substantial progress made and enormous optimism surrounding the emergence of the marine renewables sector in Scotland it is still a fledgling industry, and when viewed by observers often rightly seen as a particularly vulnerable sector. This is a consequence of many factors, most notably:
- the fragility of the infrastructure in Northern Scotland notably the grid and its further development, the latter being subject to significant influence by national decisions;
- under-investment, with many designs and project initiatives being led by SMEs without substantial capital investment capacity, and with less attractive returns to investors than comparable onshore renewables projects;
- the capacity of the economy of the Highlands and Islands to support the R&D activity necessary for the region to be a world-leader in this technology with expertise and resources capable of supporting its development, rather than simply relying on imported technologies to exploit these resources.
MREDS and ICIT
The International Centre for Islands Technology (ICIT), a department of Scotland's Heriot-Watt University based in Orkney, has been given public sector funding, through which it has developed the MREDS programme to seek ways of strengthening this emerging sector.
The MREDS Project Launch Timeline
- Preliminary work started in 2005 - forging links in particular with the UHI Millennium Institute and marine renewables developers. Identification of linked research initiatives and ongoing work.
- MREDS launched in May 2007 - having secured:
- £0.5million core funding from HIE/OIC, enabling the participation of all SMEs in the sector;
- £1million from the Scottish Funding Council for a Strategic Research Development Grant (SRDG) for Workpackage 5.
- New springboard proposals emerging already from Workpackage 4 and Workpackage 6, extending the involvement to UK and international researchers in the MREDS research partnership.
- Launch presentation 6th Nov. 2007 at Total, Aberdeen of the industry ticket programme enabling further development of Workpackage strands, and a collaborative relationship between sponsors, developers and researchers.
- Aspirational target of £5million over the next 5 years.