Marine energy 'revolution' hailed

Jun 20 2012

Green energy will transform Scotland in the way that technology firms in Silicon Valley transformed California, the First Minister will say.

Alex Salmond will tell an audience in San Francisco that Scotland's developing marine energy sector will turn the country into a centre of excellence in this field - bringing with it potentially huge economic and environmental rewards.

The First Minister is in the west coast of America on a four-day trade mission, with his trip having already included the world premiere of the new Pixar movie Brave, an animated film set in a mythical Scotland.

Later, he will be addressing the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco - the oldest public affairs forum in the United States.

Previous speakers there have included civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King and former US presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

In his speech Mr Salmond will highlight Scotland's renewable energy potential, saying the country is at the "heart of the marine engineering revolution" and could be the "Silicon Valley of marine energy".

Scotland has 10% of Europe's wave power resources and a quarter of its offshore wind and tidal resources.

Mr Salmond will state: "Scotland is a nation which has made a big contribution to the world in the past and has a huge amount to offer the world in the future. We are ambitious for the future, both for ourselves and what we can contribute to the rest of the world.

"I believe that developing the concentration of expertise, commitment and investment in marine energy that Scotland already possesses will make us the Silicon Valley of marine energy.

"That patch of Northern California that became known as Silicon Valley began by creating a community of technical scholars. Big business followed the skills and big rewards soon followed - and the same is happening in Scotland in our marine energy sector."