Scottish Enterprise, an executive Non-Departmental Public Body of the Scottish Government, has published its annual results, which show that GPB 16.3 million has been written off in relation to wave energy company Pelamis Wave Power.
“Our ambitions in relation to Wave Energy were adversely affected by the difficulties experienced by two of Scotland’s key companies, Pelamis and Aquamarine. The focus has now shifted to Wave Energy Scotland to address a range of technology priorities,” said Scottish Enterprise, which also invested GBP 5.4 million in Aquamarine Power.
After Pelamis’ collapse , HIE obtained the company’s assets and intellectual property on behalf of Wave Energy Scotland (WES) , a new body established to support Scotland’s wave energy sector.
In tidal energy sector, Scottish Enterprise has made an investment of GBP 3.7 million in the Meygen tidal demonstration project.
However, an ambitious milestone set on the progress of major infrastructure investments, demonstration projects and supply chain developments in the offshore renewables sector was not achieved due to the difficulties that the sector faced in global markets, Scottish Enterprise explained.
In the wave sector some major companies in the sector failed to attract commercial investment to support technology development and attracting infrastructure investment into offshore wind proved challenging during 2014/15. However there were some signs of progress in relation to renewable energy. We levered £65m of investment through the Renewable Energy Investment Fund (REIF), including a significant investment in the tidal sector, and we are also seeing progress in relation to the International Technology & Renewable Energy Zone (ITREZ) in Glasgow which has attracted significant commercial interest.
Tidal Energy Today Staff; Image: Pelamis Wave Power