A total of £3.5m of new investment is to be made in Scotland's renewable energy sector, it has been announced.

The funding is being made possible by the Scottish Enterprise.

Four projects will be supported by the agency's Renewable Energy Investment Fund (REIF) and include:

• Islay Energy Community Benefit Society (£735,000) – The loan will go towards installing a community-owned 330Kw turbine on the island, which will have the potential to power around 300 homes.

• Nova Innovation (£700,000) – The loan will support the first phase of the 0.5MW Shetland Tidal Array.

• Fintry Development Trust (£615,000) – The organisation, which is dedicated to making the village a zero-carbon, zero-waste community, will use the load to help refinance a commercial agreement which gives trust an income stream from the nearby Earlsburn Wind Farm. This income will be invested in local renewable projects.


• AWS Ocean Energy (£250,000) – The loan will support the further development and testing of the company's AWS-III. This is a wave energy device that offers the prospect of wave energy on a farm scale.

Welcoming the announcement, Energy Minister Fergus Ewing, said: "This latest round of Scottish Enterprise funding underlines the Scottish Government's commitment to Scotland's growing renewables sector.

"Scotland is a world leader in deploying renewables technology. We have tremendous green energy potential and vast natural resources, about a quarter of Europe's wind and tidal energy and 10% of its wave power.

"Clean, green energy is creating opportunities for communities across Scotland and delivering jobs and investment."

Andrew Smith, Head of REIF, added: "These are really ambitious and exciting projects, which clearly demonstrate the wide range of initiatives that REIF was set up to support. They also show how by working with other funders we can leverage significant investment from the private sector.

"Scotland is fast gaining a global reputation for being at the forefront of developing and testing new technologies in the development of wind, wave and tidal energy, and all of these projects will make a real contribution to the ongoing development of the sector."

(JP/MH)