The Scottish Government’s £10million Saltire Prize for marine energy has been delayed by two years, it was confirmed yesterday.
It emerged the winner will not be revealed until 2017, as applications formally opened for the prize.
The government says it has been put back to give competitors time to get the necessary offshore leases and licences in place. Labour leader Iain Gray said the prize had been announced with great fanfare by First Minister Alex Salmond in Washington two years ago.
Mr Gray said: “It was supposed to promote Scotland as a world leader in renewable energy. Now it turns out that it won’t be awarded at the end of this parliamentary session, or even at the end of the next one as the SNP promised, but in 2017.
“Enterprising Scottish companies will hear this news in stunned disbelief. These repeated delays are turning into a real embarrassment for the SNP government.”
The government said yesterday feedback from entrants during a consultation resulted in the Saltire Prize grand challenge period running from 2012 until June 2017. The winner will be unveiled the following month.
This is to give competitors enough time to secure leases and meet licensing and consent requirements.
The winner was originally scheduled to be announced in spring 2015 and will be the largest government innovation prize in the world.
It will go to commercially viable wave or tidal energy technology that generates at least 100 gigawatts of electricity over two years using only sea power – enough to power 10,000 homes.
Energy Minister Jim Mather published yesterday the competition guidelines at the Scottish Renewables annual conference in Glasgow.
He said: “I am delighted that the Saltire Prize, Scotland’s challenge to the world to push the boundaries of marine energy innovation, is now open for applications.”
Mr Mather also confirmed the Crown Estate, as owner of the seabed around the UK, would run a dedicated leasing round over this summer aimed at Saltire Prize competitors to test their devices in Scottish waters.
Liberal Democrat energy spokesman Liam McArthur said yesterday: “We’ve been subjected to a ludicrous number of announcements about the Saltire Prize. The pomp and bombast remains constant. The only thing that changes is the date, which keeps moving back.
“Perhaps if the government stopped re-announcing this project, the date would stick.”
Niall Stuart, chief executive of green energy trade association Scottish Renewables, said: “The Saltire Prize has been a fantastic idea, given a real focus to the development of the industry, and attracted genuine excitement and interest around the world.”
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