A new Marine Renewables Test Centre is to be created at the University of Dundee.

The £2m centre will become a leading facility for the development, design and testing of marine renewable construction materials and prototype foundations.

The facility is being supported by £833,000 of funding unveiled by the European Regional Development Fund.

Welcoming the announcement, Professor Rod Jones, Head of the new Test Centre, said: "Scotland is well placed to deliver offshore wind and marine renewables and meet its ambitious targets for 2020 but there are still some significant challenges to be addressed.

"Although considerable progress has been made in developing and manufacturing turbines, the main challenges now lie in the design, commissioning and deployment of key structural components such as concrete foundations for offshore wind farms.

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"We have world-leading expertise at Dundee in the development of concrete technology and the modelling of novel foundation solutions. This new Centre will build on that and be integral to the provision of, demonstration and certification of marine materials and structures, which are particularly needed by industry if we are to successfully deploy the systems required to exploit Scotland's natural resources in wind and marine energy."

Fergus Ewing, Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism, also praised the announcement.

He added: "The creation and launch of the Marine Renewables Test Centre located at the University of Dundee is a further demonstration of Scotland's continued commitment to the development and future commercialisation of the marine renewables industry in Scotland.

"The test centre in Dundee will complement the internationally recognised facilities provided by Flowave TT located at the University of Edinburgh and, of course, the world leading testing facilities offered at EMEC."

(JP/IT)