The inventor of the Pelamis wave-energy device, Richard Yemm, was honoured last night for his outstanding contribution to the development of Scotland’s marine-renewables sector.
Pelamis has gained international recognition since Mr Yemm founded Pelamis Wave Power in Edinburgh in 1998.
First Minister Alex Salmond presented Mr Yemm, now the firm’s commercial director, with the second annual Saltire Prize Medal at the Scottish Renewables (SR) annual conference dinner in Edinburgh.
The annual award – made under the auspices of Scotland’s £10million Saltire Prize marine-energy challenge – aims to recognise outstanding contributions by individuals and groups to the development of wave and/or tidal power generation.
Mr Salmond also said Terry Garcia, executive vice-president for mission programmes at the National Geographic Society had agreed to chair the challenge committee. Neil Kermode, managing director of the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, will be deputy chairman.
SR chief executive Niall Stuart said: “Richard Yemm will . . . be looked upon as one of the most influential people to the development of Scotland’s marine industry – from the drawing board to grid-connected devices and making important steps to commercial scale projects.”
Mr Yemm said: “This is an individual award but wherever you take the time to look across this exciting new sector you can see exceptional individuals working together as one team to deliver on the win-win of clean-energy and economic-development opportunity that marine energy represents.”