Scotland handed leading role in renewable project

Published Date: 21 February 2009
By Gerri Peev

THE Scottish Government has been given a lead role in developing renewable technology after UK ministers struck an agreement at a summit.
Scottish politicians will look at ways of generating electricity through marine energy in the waters around Britain and Ireland. The UK government will, meanwhile, examine proposals for the grid infrastructure needed.After a meeting of devolved and national government leaders in Cardiff, Alex Salmond, the First Minister, said there was "enormous potential" for about 60,000 megawatts.Mr Salmond added: "Scotland is leading the world in renewable energy and we are delighted to be leading this important work stream on behalf of the whole British-Irish Council."In a statement from the Scotland Office, Paul Murphy, the Welsh Secretary, said that ministers had agreed on what was being done to combat the recession across the UK.Despite his upbeat assessment, talks at a meeting next week between Mr Salmond and Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, are expected to be more tense.Mr Salmond is furious at a cut of £500 million to the Scottish Budget. Yesterday, however, Mr Murphy said there was co-operation over dealing with the recession, which was top of the agenda."The value of the British-Irish Council is the opportunity to share experiences and comparisons of good practice between all the administrations. By talking and sharing we can try to ensure real support for families and businesses across these islands during this economic downturn and to ensure we are best placed for recovery once this downturn ends," he said.Rhodri Morgan, the Welsh First Minister, who chaired the session, said the regular get-together had to show it could contribute to lifting the economies of Britain and Ireland out of the downturn."It has proved its value during the good times, but now we move into much choppier waters and the British-Irish Council must prove itself all over again as a vehicle to assist us during tougher times," he said.He said they discussed the role voluntary groups could play in mitigating the worst of the recession and "holding society together" in a harsh economic climate.