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PHOTO CREDIT: Professor Peter Fraenkel -MCT LTD.
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A
new report concludes that a sub-sea renewable energy grid connecting
Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland is viable and competitive.
Government ministers from the three countries met to discuss the
proposal in Glasgow.
The
concept names Isles proposes harnessing wind, wave and tidal energy
to help meet European Union renewable energy targets.
The
report states:
"The
study concludes that an Isles cross-jurisdictional offshore
integrated network is economically viable and competitive under
certain regulatory frameworks and can potentially deliver a range of
wider economic, environmental and market-related benefits. There are
no technological barriers or "adverse environmental constraints"
to the development of the network.”
The
report estimates a maximum resource potential of 16.4 gigawatts (GW),
comprising 12.1GW from offshore wind and 2.3GW of wave and tidal.
John
Swinney
Scottish
Finance Secretary
 "Scotland
has around a quarter of the continent's wind and tidal resource and
as much as a tenth of its potential wave power. This project paves
the way to allow us to harvest that potential, further develop our
export capability and bring in revenues to Scotland. This project has
EU-wide significance. It shows Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland
are leading the debate on how to deliver our offshore energy networks
and we will now take these findings to both Westminster and
Brussels."
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 Pat
Rabbitte
Ireland's
Energy Minister
"With
a sea area that is almost 10 times the size of our landmass, Ireland
has abundant ocean renewable energy resources, potentially a multiple
of the energy requirements of our own system."
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 Arlene
Foster
Northern
Ireland Energy Minister
"The
Isles concept study presents us with a realistic picture of an energy
future where the regional wind, wave and tidal energy resources
located far off our coasts are harnessed and used for our mutual
good. This will not happen quickly or easily."
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