Solar Heating - Salmond keen on supergrid

15/02/2008

Scotland should help to establish an offshore European supergrid in order to make the most of its potential to produce renewable energy, according to first minister Alex Salmond.

The Scottish government has set a target of generating 50 per cent of the country's electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

Scotland benefits from ideal conditions to generate wind, wave and tidal energy, but Mr Salmond believes that to hit the target the country must gain help from other European nations.

He explained that the Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands and Germany benefit from similar conditions to Scotland, but warned that natural resources alone are not enough.

"The challenge we all share is the lack of an electricity grid infrastructure which can enable energy capture to exploit our marine renewable resources," explained Mr Salmond.

Developing the supergrid is a crucial part of Scotland's plans for renewable energy, he added.

Scotland's finance and sustainable growth secretary John McSwinney recently launched a consultation about setting a target to reduce carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.