The Scottish Executive has awarded a £260,000 grant to wave power specialist Ocean Power Delivery to expand its production facilities in Fife, where it assembles its Pelamis wave energy converters.
The grant, from the Regional Selective Assistance fund, will create 53 new jobs at the company, and will establish it as a permanent resident at the Fife Energy Park.
According to OPD’s chief financial officer, Martin Reynard, the grant will help OPD boost its manufacturing capability. ‘This grant award is intended to help offset investment costs for manufacturing at the Fife Energy Park, which can in turn help bring OPD one step closer to commercial volume production of Pelamis.’
The Scottish Executive’s finance and sustainable growth secretary, John Swinney, underlined the importance of renewable energy — particularly marine-based technologies — to Scotland.
‘OPD is leading the world in the development of wave energy technologies,’ he said. ‘They have shown how successful Scottish companies can be. Pelamis has the potential to revolutionise how the world produces energy from the sea. We are determined to produce a renewable energy strategy for Scotland that will exploit all forms of renewable energy and ensure that they deliver to their full potential.'
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