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The Scottish offshore renewables industry has been boosted by two multimillion-pound investments announced last month.
A £35 million fund will support production of offshore wind technology, while £7 million is being invested in a wave-energy company. Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond announced the funds as he opened the second Scottish Low-Carbon Investment conference in Edinburgh.
The £35 million fund, administered by Scottish Enterprise, is open for applications from across Scotland until March 2013.
It aims to build on recent success in attracting world-leading turbine manufacturers to locate research and development bases in Scotland.
The government hopes to encourage a further £80 million of private investment to bring production of full-scale prototypes to Scottish sites.
Salmond said: “As developers and investors look across this global market for certainty and for leadership from government, they can look to Scotland to provide those things.
“We are determined to remain among the most attractive locations for manufacturing, including the prototype testing that follows the R&D phase.
“That is why I am announcing a new £35 million fund to support production of full-scale prototypes of the next-generation offshore wind turbines that will power the renewables revolution, deliver our 2020 vision and reindustrialise Scotland.”
The first minister also announced that Aquamarine Power had closed a £7 million funding round comprising £3 million each from existing major shareholders SSE Venture Capital and ABB, and £1 million from Scottish Enterprise, via the Scottish Investment Bank.
The three shareholders are also working together to develop a further funding package of £18 million to take the company to commercialisation in 2014, the government said.