www.hie.co.uk

Our aim is to enable people living in the Highlands and Islands to realise their full potential on a long-term, sustainable basis.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is the Scottish Government’s agency responsible for sustainable economic and community growth in the northwest half of Scotland.

Integral to HIE’s strategy is the continued support and growth of the renewable energy sector – through investment, training, infrastructure, research and development – a field in which the region is already making great strides.

Thanks to its northerly coastal location, the Highlands and Islands can boast the greatest concentration of potentially exploitable renewable energy resources in the UK. It is already established as a major player in onshore wind and hydro energy and is well on its way to becoming an international leader in emerging renewable energy technologies too.

“Developing the renewable energy sector presents a tremendous opportunity for the Highlands and Islands,” explains HIE’s director of Business Growth and Research Jackie Wright. “The potential for our region to make a lasting contribution to the development of this young industry is truly vast.”

Scotland’s long association with the offshore oil and gas industry means that the renewable energy sector can draw on a considerable pool of transferable knowledge, skills and experience. Exemplifying the potential of this collaborative approach is the Talisman Beatrice Wind Farm Demonstrator Project, sited in the Moray Firth off the east coast of Scotland.

An innovative pilot project, Beatrice represents the world’s first deepwater offshore wind farm. Currently comprising two 5MW demonstrator wind turbines manufactured and deployed by local companies including Camcal, Isleburn and Weldex, ultimately the ambitious project has aspirations to install a total of 200 turbines.

With only 450,000 inhabitants, the Highlands and Islands may be home to less than one per cent of the UK population and just nine per cent of Scotland’s, but with more than 2000MW of installed capacity it produces the majority of Scotland’s renewable electricity. The significance of this is not lost on HIE.

Some of the strongest sustained wind sites in Europe are found in the Highlands and Islands along with sizeable forestry resources suited to biomass development. The region is also home to some of the world’s best wave and tidal energy regimes.

Add to this the skilled workforce, major investment in infrastructure and a comprehensive research and development base, and it is little wonder that international operators such as turbine manufacturer Vestas Celtic and the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) have been attracted to the Highlands and Islands.

“Ours is a region that is setting precedents in renewables and one of our key functions at HIE is to support and develop these pioneering projects and technologies,” says Wright.

Projects such as EMEC; the UK’s largest contemporary hydro scheme at Glendoe; Shetland’s PURE project, which demonstrates hydrogen fuel cell technology; as well as future developments like the wave farm in the waters off Stromness in Orkney – set to be the largest in the world – confirm Wright’s assertions.

In May 2007, the UK government published its White Paper on energy, setting out its strategy to achieve energy security and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. It stipulated the need to save energy, develop cleaner energy supplies and secure reliable supplies at competitive prices.

There can be no doubt that the Highlands and Islands is a natural powerhouse for green energy and that HIE is pivotal in driving the renewable energy sector here forward.

For further information on HIE, visit www.hie.co.uk; and to read more about the renewables sector in the Highlands and Islands visit www.hi-energy.org.uk

 

Click here to obtain a copy of RENEWABLE ENERGY 2008