A group of Scotland-based economic development enterprises have vowed to play a major role in the energy transition.
Opportunity North East, or One, said it was working with Scottish Enterprise to help small to medium-sized supply chain businesses diversify into offshore wind, wave and tidal power in a three-year, co-funded project.
One was responding to criticism from Dick Winchester, who is on the Scottish Government’s Energy Advisory Board.
He accused the organisation of effectively ignoring green power.
One argued it was also developing energy transition projects with partners spanning the supply chain and infrastructure to build on the regional competitive advantage in energy as part of its £1.7 million investment in the sector in the year ahead.
The Oil and Gas Technology Centre (OGTC) acknowledged that new technologies had to be developed to help the oil industry transition to a low carbon future.
OGTC external relationship director Stephen Sheal said while the organisation was established to fund technology that can unlock the full potential of the UK oil and gas sector, it is supporting several low-carbon projects.
One of those involves the design of a new wave buoy that produces clean renewable energy for marginal field developments.
OGTC is also working with EC-OG on a pioneering tidal turbine system which harnesses energy in ocean currents to produce autonomous electrical power.
Hydrogen-based projects that deliver carbon-neutral, potentially carbon-negative, technology are also being progressed in partnership with the OGTC.
Mr Sheal said in the longer term they are investigating the potential to “marinise electrolysis technologies capable of producing hydrogen to fully power marginal field developments”.
