Wave of anger over tidal power funding

Published Date: 05 October 2008

By Eddie Barnes Political Editor

SCOTLAND is in danger of squandering its status as the world's wave and tidal energy capital because of a lack of Government support, according to top industry figures.
A special grant fund for technology firms has dried up, amid warnings that several nations are set to overtake Scotland as the big global players in this important new market. Industry leaders are calling for fresh Government backing so that the world's first viable tidal power programme is made in Scotland.The Pentland Firth, where the tidal flows are among the world's fiercest, has been described as a potential "Saudi Arabia of tidal power". Industry figures say a lack of backing means it could be another 10 years before the energy is transformed into electricity on the grid.The complaints come despite millions of pounds being ploughed in by both the Scottish and UK Governments. In Edinburgh, ministers are offering the £10m Saltire Prize to a group that demonstrates a breakthrough invention in marine energy. It has also announced plans to give greater subsidies to firms that produce marine energy in Scottish waters. However, a £13m grant programme set up by the previous Scottish Executive, which gave grants to R&D firms in Scotland, has now dried up. In the US, the department of energy has recently awarded several five-year grants to a number of schemes. In Ireland, a ?26m fund was set up earlier this year to fund projects until 2013.A spokesman for the Scottish Council for Development and Industry said: "We are the Saudia Arabia of renewables. But we also want to be the Silicon Valley, or the Houston, Texas, where the technology is created. Certainly it is a concern for technology companies. We welcome the progress that has been made on renewables, but we are still a long way from a world-class system in Scotland, and if we are going to get there we need to anchor the technology companies in Scotland. There was funding available for one year but that is no longer available. There is more than enough money flushing around in renewables. In Ireland and the US there is new support, and Spain and Portugal are both very keen as well to welcome these companies."In a submission to the UK Government's Renewable Energy review, SCDI add: "The technologies are still at least five to 10 years away from scale commercial deployment. The UK still has a technical lead, but the Iberians and Irish are working hard to catch up."Barry Johnston, managing director of ScotRenewables Ltd, a research and development firm in Orkney, which won funding from the Government in 2006 said: "The £13m was excellent but, quite honestly, even if that was £130m, that still wouldn't be much to get an industry with this potential off the ground."It is estimated that a tidal power station in the Pentland Firth could provide 5% of UK electricity.A Scottish Government spokesman said funds could be available in the future.