The Scottish Government has announced a £15m fund to help develop deep-water wind turbine foundations in the country.

Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism, Fergus Ewing, made the announcement yesterday.

The Scottish Innovative Foundation Technologies Fund will support the development of prototype foundations for offshore wind turbines sited in water depths greater than 30m.

Mr Ewing said: "Offshore wind is one of the world's most exciting clean-tech sectors where Scotland already plays a leading role. Scotland pioneered the world's first deep-water offshore wind development and our innovation and offshore engineering expertise will play an increasingly important role as the industry moves to harness the wind further offshore – where both the energy resources and the technical challenges are greater.

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"This funding will help maintain Scotland’s position as one of the world’s most attractive destinations for renewable energy investment, development and deployment."

Maggie McGinlay, Director of Energy and Clean Technologies at Scottish Enterprise added: "We know that our offshore wind sector has huge economic potential and this fund will make a significant contribution to helping reduce the costs of offshore wind and creating an internationally renowned industry in Scotland."

She also said this would add to the existing support already found in the sector, such as POWERS and the National Renewables Infrastructure Fund.

(JP/MH)