Murphy hails new wave of Scots technology

Published Date: 16 July 2009
SCOTTISH Secretary Jim Murphy visited the Pelamis Wave Power headquarters in Leith to announce an £8 million boost from the UK government for marine energy.
The funding will help expand the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, where Pelamis achieved a world first by generating electricity for the national grid.Pelamis is now working on the next generation of its unique wave-power generators for Orkney next year.Mr Murphy said work at Pelamis, on the Forth estuary, will inspire advances in renewable technology.He added: "Clever people are using cutting-edge technology with traditional Scottish heavy engineering to be world leaders."The investment today will enable expansion in Orkney so that other Scottish businesses, with ingenuity and innovation, can make sure that Scotland and Britain is the best place to develop technology."The UK government has set a target to generate 40 per cent of electricity from "low-carbon" sources by 2020.Mr Murphy said Scotland was perfect for wave and wind power and had a pivotal role to play in helping the UK become the first major economy to convert to low-carbon living, He said: "Scotland is surrounded by the sea and swept by the winds. We have a quarter of Europe's entire potential tidal power."