Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has appointed Tim Hurst as Managing Director of Wave Energy Scotland (WES).
Wave Energy Scotland is a subsidiary of HIE and it was set up in December 2014 at the request of the Scottish Government.
Hurst joined HIE as Head of Offshore Industry Development in 2013. He was the lead contact for HIE on a pan-Scottish group of agencies including government, industry and key stakeholders, to plan and develop next generation test and demonstration facilities for the offshore renewable sector.
Tim Hurst commented: “What Wave Energy Scotland seeks to do is to learn lessons from the sector to date, but also to draw on the experience from a range of other industries which will help us produce engineering solutions for the cost effective and reliable generation of wave energy.
“Our aim, ultimately, is to create the conditions which will allow the private investors to re- enter the sector and take it through to commercialization.”
Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: “The year ahead will be challenging and we have high expectations for the five calls which WES will launch this year . However, I have every confidence that WES will deliver great results from these calls and I look forward to continuing to work with Tim and his team.”
WES is fully funded by the Scottish Government and has a budget of GBP 14.3 mln until the end of the financial year in 2016.
The aim of WES is to support and accelerate the development of wave energy technology in Scotland.
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Image: HIE